Valdis
by kuro-yumi
Summary: She knew it was stupid to go anywhere near a deranged psychopathic murderer. He could kill her at any time. He probably was waiting for her to reach the peak of her potential so he could kill her. But fate wasn't ever kind. Because she was addicted to him. Hisoka x OC. Rated M for adult themes. [HIATUS due to writer's block, but I will finish the story... eventually]
1. Chapter 1

The first time Hisoka met _her_ , he was twenty three, and she was twelve. They had passed each other in the hallways before stopping and appraising each other. He had dismissed her at first sight.

After all, Nova was there, and he was _much_ more interesting. The assassin was quite a flashy fighter despite his profession. Hisoka almost mourned it. How much _fun_ it would have been if Nova had developed according to his strengths, rather than being forced by the family business into becoming an assassin.

But Nova _was_ strong, even as an assassin.

And Hisoka just _knew_ Nova had coaxed the little girl hiding behind his leg through the levels, and gotten her through the Ren hallway on the 200th floor by shielding her with his nen.

Hisoka saw them. And Nova saw Hisoka.

"Hisoka," Nova growled in surprise and wariness, pushing the small form behind him.

If the twenty five year old had not made that too-obvious movement, Hisoka would have overlooked the tiny girl.

Hisoka raised his eyebrow. "Well, well. Fancy meeting you again, Valdis. After you disappeared, I figured you died on a job. I'm glad you didn't."

He left the implications unsaid. Hisoka would be the one to kill Nova. Eventually.

Nova's scowl deepened, the man taking a step back to shield the child. Hisoka's eyes glinted, and he glanced down, grinning at Luna. She was an insignificant little thing, shy and weak. He normally wouldn't have paid her any attention, deeming her unworthy. But she was with Nova. And he was quite pleased to see Nova react violently, nearly grabbing a knife and stabbing the clown.

Nova was smart enough not to, of course. For if he had moved, his precious little sister would have died.

Hisoka's grin widened. "Who is this pretty girl?"

And a spark of interest flickered within him.

He watched as her pupils dilated, and her breath grew heavier. He let his nen seep out to wash over her, but within the small amount of nen, he forced out all his killing intent.

"Hisoka!" Nova snarled. "It's none of your business."

He watched as the man stormed away, and he watched the little girl stand silently in front of him.

Her pupils expanded and dilated, and the paltry, untrained nen disappeared. Hisoka raised a delicately arched eyebrow, surprised. He would never have thought a _Valdis_ of all people would be prey. Prey ran and hid when threatened.

And predators hunted.

The flicker of interest died. He was a little disappointed, despite never having expected anything out of her in the first place. Perhaps some part of him had hoped she would be Nova's successor as his prey when Hisoka killed the older male.

"Luna," Nova snapped.

Luna, as Hisoka now knew her name to be, didn't react. Her breathing grew shallower and shallower until he could barely detect her chest rise and fall. And her nen disappeared to the point where he would have thought she was a dead person if she had not blinked once in a while.

 _SMACK!_

Hisoka's eyes snapped up to Nova, surprised.

"Luna!" Nova snapped, narrowing his eyes at the girl.

A red handprint was growing on her cheek, and it looked like the mark would remain there for a few days. But the girl's nen was back, and she looked like she was back in reality again.

"What were you _thinking_?!" Nova growled. "He's _dangerous_ , damn it! How many times do I have to tell you!"

"I apologize," Luna spoke for the first time, and her voice was soft. "But it was precisely because he was dangerous."

She spoke a little too formally for a child. Hisoka frowned. It seemed… Off, to say the least.

A flash of silver caught in the corner of his eye. His eyes flicked over, just in time to see a knife disappearing up the overly long sleeve.

The pinprick of interest rekindled.

" _You cannot hunt Hisoka_!" Nova hissed.

"Understood," Luna replied, expression gaining a cool and emotionless mask.

The pinprick of interest grew into a small flame. Small, but it burned steadily, and threatened to require more fuel, threatened to grow into a wildfire.

And so Hisoka watched her.

And she watched him.

Luna Valdis was nine years old when she first met Hisoka. Her brother had told her about a man in a clown's outfit, an eccentric pervert but powerful. Overwhelmingly so. And he had mentioned that Hisoka had a severe lack of understanding about concepts like morals and common sense.

She felt his nen before she saw him. She _tasted_ his nen.

And then her brother was in front of her, pushing her behind him, shielding her from the man he deemed a rival.

She stared up curiously at him. He was handsome, she knew, but she hadn't hit puberty yet, and it didn't really affect her.

But his _nen_. It was… Indescribable, to say the least.

And then he looked down at her, and he smiled.

Her pupils dilated and she began hyperventilating. Luna had never met anyone with such an aura before, combining insanity, bloodlust, and power.

For the first time, she felt true terror.

At the back of her mind, she knew she heard her brother tell Hisoka it was none of his business, and she _felt_ Nova's warmth fade step by step, the man lost in his tension and failing to notice that Luna was not following.

She couldn't.

For a moment, she had the mental capacity to note that she was glad she had perfected the skill of making her nen seem untrained.

Luna could only stand as if fixed to the floor, hypnotized and paralyzed. She and Hisoka stared at each other.

 _He's dangerous. I'll be killed. He's dangerous. Bloodlust. Killing intent. Kill kill kill kill kill_

Her wrist flicked, and her knife fell into her hand.

He was dangerous. She had to hunt him. She had to kill him.

Or else he would kill her.

 _Danger_.

Her nen slowly ebbed, the girl using zetsu, completely blocking anybody from sensing her nen.

 _Hunt_.

Her fingers tightened around the hilt.

 _Kill_.

 _SMACK!_

She blinked once, and she was back to reality, the deadly focus and hidden killing intent draining. Her knife flicked back into the sheath hidden in her sleeve.

Her cheek stung.

But the _hungry_ look from Hisoka, the way his eyes glinted with interest and a dark, twisted type of desire, and she forgot the pain.

Luna never told her brother this, but she developed a sixth sense for the creepy murderous clown.

She _knew_ when he was in the audience watching her fight. She wouldn't admit to _anyone_ that she performed a little better.

She _knew_ he was there, even if the seats were full, and a few hundred peoples' nen pressed towards her from all directions, screwing with her senses.

She knew he watched almost every single one of her fights.

And she grew stronger. Because she also knew that he was waiting for her to become a worthy prey.

She knew she did not want to disappoint him. Not him. Never him, never the man who's nen tasted sickeningly sweet, and overwhelmingly of blood.

And she knew she was.. _._

 _Addicted._


	2. Chapter 2

The second time Luna spoke to Hisoka was nearly half a year later.

Nova died. No. Nova was _murdered_. And it didn't take a genius to know who.

"ONII-SAMA!" Luna screamed, leaping over the railing and landing in the arena.

The referee didn't even try to stop her. It was clear to everyone that the man was dead. Her hands clenched into fists, shaking and bloodless from the force. Her eyes closed as she tried to school her expression.

She knew Nova's opponent. She _knew_ him. She had seen him before. And the image of his face, splattered with blood and sporting a grin filled with bloodlust, was burned into her memory.

And Nova didn't know a thing.

If she had told him, would he have stayed alive?

No, Luna knew. He would have fought, and he would still have died.

Biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, she reached out to close her brother's staring eyes. He was so _cold_. It had been barely a minute since the fight ended, but the fading warmth she had hoped to feel was not there. The blood that drained from his body had drained the warmth alongside it.

She felt Hisoka's nen spike, knew he was there. But she didn't care. For the first time, she had no room beside her fury and grief to notice the man.

"I remember you," Luna said, rising to her feet, voice shaking with suppressed rage. "I remember you. And I will kill you."

The man stared at her. Not a single trace of surprise sat on his face. Rather, he cocked his head, seeming rather amused. He grinned. It was the same grin she remembered, and her heart raced with anticipation and dread.

"Come fight me any time," the man mocked, and laughed.

The sound mocked her, chasing her out of the arena and through the night.

Luna knew the arena had sent the body to their home. It was the common tradition of the place for those fighters who still had families and homes.

And she knew _exactly_ what her family was thinking as they opened the body bag to find the eldest child of their former leader dead, the bag littered with flakes of dried blood, the severed limbs thumping against the sides with every movement of the bag.

The thought keeping her rage fresh, she registered for a fight with the assassin.

It was personal. The audience all knew that when they saw the sheer hate on the normally expressionless girl's face.

"Luna Valdis versus Hyun Tak! Begin!"

But they stayed motionless, the girl tensed and glaring, the man watching her lazily. The audience shuffled, murmurs rising in waves. Hisoka shot them a mildly irritated look.

Everyone in his vicinity fell silent cleared out.

"Who hired you," Luna's soft voice finally said, dripping with poison.

"Oh, I think you know," Hyuk replied casually, amused. "You told me you remember me. I never told you that _I remember you too_."

That cinched it. Her pupils dilated, her nen disappeared. She was _furious_. She charged.

Fury blinded her, she would think in hindsight. An assassin did not simply _charge_ in a frontal attack. It was suicidal. If she had wanted to brawl, she would have become a soldier or a mercenary. Not an assassin.

He kicked her back easily, hands still in his pockets.

For a moment she felt lucky that her clothes were of good quality, and that she was fully clothed. Otherwise she would have had mild burns from being sent sprawling all the way across the arena. But she rolled into a crouch and glared, feeling a dull ache in her abdomen. It would bruise.

"You were tiny back then. Still tiny now, but not as weak, hmm?" Hyuk commented, eyes gaining a predatory glint. "A pity, really. You have potential. Even more than Nova. It's a wonder how such _weak_ and _pitiful_ parents could create such a child."

Her eyes widened, her chest heaving.

"They took three hours to die, didn't they? So. Much. Blood. And they were screaming the entire time," Hyuk continued, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. "I wonder if _you_ would scream."

She snarled, springing for him, her knife appearing in her palm and slashing up for his throat. The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed towards the ceiling as his palm smacked against her wrist, blocking the attack. Hyuk's fist struck out—

Only to miss as she _pushed_ back, feet sliding into a halt several meters away.

Her eyes glinted, widened.

He moved for the first time, daggers flashing under the stadium lights, a bloodthirsty grin on his face as his eyes flicked. Throat, heart, brain, intestines. His fingers itched to dig his dagger into any one of those points.

Luna leapt to the side, arm snapping out to nick his abdomen. But his reactions were fast too. His leg exploded into her stomach, sending her flying.

She flew off the arena and crashed into the wall, feeling it splinter and crumble under her back. Luna coughed, desperate to regain the air he knocked out of her.

Danger.

She lunged to the side.

But not fast enough.

Luna bit back a scream as daggers found their way into her arm and leg, and another nicked her back even as she dodged.

Baring her teeth, she rolled to her feet and yanked the weapons out in a spurt of crimson. Her eyes flicked over to see the other weapons impaled into the wall and floor, quivering and humming from the impact.

She was _losing_.

Why was she losing?!

"Points null! Hyuk Tak-senshuu, attacking an opponent outside of the ring is not allowed. This is a warning. Repeat the offense and you will be disqualified!" The announcer yelled.

The crowd roared in outrage at the blatant disrespect for the arena's laws. Yet the two ignored them. They both knew this wasn't a fight at the Heaven's Arena.

It was an assassination.

And with that thought, Luna returned to her senses. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, focused on the sickly sweet nen leaking from the audience seat. And when her eyes snapped open, she was calm.

Hisoka smirked _._

The second time Hisoka came into contact with her was nearly half a year after their initial meeting.

He saw the match where Nova fought Hyuk Tak, watched Nova die with a tinge of mild disappointment. He was the one who was supposed to kill the assassin. The man was strong. A brawler who grew up in the wrong environment.

He saw Luna leap onstage and demand a match.

Hisoka watched as she attacked straight on, and annoyance rose. Her brother may have been meant to become a brawler, but _she_ was obviously meant to be an assassin. Nova had fought like an assassin until death. And _she_ simply attacked head on.

When Hyuk's daggers hit, he felt anger. He wanted her blood to be _his_ and nobody else's. Was she so weak that this man could defeat her? Kill her?

Hisoka knew that his nen was leaking out, his bloodlust. He knew half the arena cleared out for that reason. And he didn't care. If she was really this weak, he would kill her himself, before that man claimed her.

She closed her eyes. He felt her nen probe at his, and his bloodlust receded, just a tiny bit.

And she walked calmly back into the arena.

For the first time since _that_ day, he felt her nen simply vanish. And moments later, he understood why Nova had reacted the way he had.

She fell into a crouch and _stalked_ , and he suddenly found his eyes sliding off her.

His interest in her once again skyrocketed.

In an arena, where everybody's attention was focused, she managed to simply… _disappear._

And she started running.

Hisoka could barely follow her with his eyes as she blurred into and out of focus, a shadow image of her appearing whenever she halted for fractions of a second. The clones were everywhere. Hisoka saw Hyuk slash in frustration, but Hisoka knew she wasn't anywhere near.

And he knew that even though there were 'clones' even halfway across the arena from her opponent, the girl was steadily getting closer…

Until she stopped.

Hisoka's eyes widened in delight; his tongue flicked out against his lips.

 _Wonderful_.

Hyuk noticed her stop. Turned. Laughed. Mocked, "Tired already?"

She smirked, half turning. "Dead people should shut up and behave like dead people."

Hyuk's eyes widened, terror crept in, just as the icy chill of death swept over his body. "N-no—"

She crushed the beating, dripping heart, and coldly let it fall from her grasp.

"W-winner, Luna Valdis!"

Hisoka's grin widened. Her bloodlust hadn't been sated. The girl released _everything_ with a howl of rage, and he felt his body shiver as the killing intent washed over him.

She was strong. And she had the potential to become stronger.

Then she turned, eyes focusing straight on him. She didn't even search through the crowd—she simply _found_ him. He felt himself harden, lust pooling at his groin. And he knew the untrained nen from half a year ago was an act.

Ah, he wanted her. Her nen was just sweet enough, but _thick_ and delectable. And it tasted like blood and night and everything _dark_.

It was…

 _Addictive_.


	3. Chapter 3

Hisoka stared down at the lump on the floor, tiny rivulets of blood seeping out from underneath. He sighed. He didn't like it when his toys didn't take care of themselves. It usually got them killed before he had the pleasure to.

There were people who said Hisoka was unable to show any kindness or gentleness. He simply wasn't made for it.

But if they could see him picking up the unconscious girl and bring her to his room, careful not to hurt her, they would have changed their minds immediately.

Or they might have just scream and run in the opposite direction at the expression on Hisoka's face, directed at everyone except the girl.

He kicked open his door, put her on his bed, and proceeded to strip her. And when he was done, he stepped back.

He grinned, a painful erection growing. She looked _delectable_ with blood all over her. And she looked so _vulnerable_ even though just moments ago her eyes were dark, bottomless pools of hate and bloodlust.

It made him want to tear her throat out with his teeth.

He resisted, of course. What was the fun in killing someone when they couldn't fight back?

And _oh_ , she had so much potential. It only took half a year and her brother's death for her bloodlust to soar, and for her movements to gain a new level of precision. He could only imagine what would happen in ten, twenty years. If he had the patience to wait that long, of course.

Hisoka looked forward to the day when someone would hire her to assassinate him. He sincerely hoped someone would. He had a lot of enemies.

Granted, many of them didn't survive their encounters with him, first or otherwise. And the few that thought they were clever enough to hire an assassin instead of attacking him themselves… Well, they found their assassins' heads on their pillows, thirty seconds before their heads joined the party. Without their bodies attached.

But she would not be assassinating anyone ever again if he didn't stop her bleeding. Had her opponent's knives been soaked in an anti-coagulant poison? What was the man's name again? Oh well. It didn't matter.

Deftly Hisoka cleaned her with a cloth and a bucket of warm water, the clear liquid quickly growing red. And when the bandages he had ordered arrived, he moved to dress her wounds, but—

"Sir! You…" The woman at the door gaped in horror as she looked past Hisoka.

He was a fully grown man! And to strip an unconscious girl naked and put her in his bed…

Pedophile.

Horrified, the woman pushed past a bemused Hisoka, grabbing the first aid kit out of his hand, and quickly covered the girl's naked body with his bloodied sheets.

Hisoka slid the nen sharpened card back where it came from.

He stared at the woman's back, thinking how _lucky_ she was, and she didn't even know it. She really should have been more careful. If he hadn't held back, her throat would be slit and she would be lying dead in a puddle of blood right about then.

But as it was, Hisoka pressed his back against the closed door and watched the woman work. She glared at him, but he didn't budge. She could have been an assassin, after all, sent to finish the job. And it simply wouldn't do if Luna was killed by someone else the day after Nova was. Hisoka simply refused to lose the chance to fight and kill the two most potentially powerful Valdis assassins in the span of forty eight hours.

With an exasperated sigh, the woman worked quickly and deftly under the blankets, disinfecting the wounds, applying medicine, and wrapping the bandages on top.

She wasn't really surprised at the injuries. A deep knife wound on the arm and another one on the thigh were quite normal. The legs that looked like they had run through the shredder, on the other hand, were usually found on corpses. Not on the winners.

The woman finished, dressed the girl, and shooting a look at Hisoka, left. He forgot her the moment she was out of sight.

He sauntered over to the girl taking up his bed, and ghosted a finger over the gauze-wrapped legs. Assassins, he knew, never used that technique while running. Creating afterimage clones required a rhythm, and doing it while running created an enormous strain on the legs. After all, it required one to move too fast for the eye to see before stopping for just long enough before moving once again.

Hisoka himself never tried the technique. He was a performer. He enjoyed the spotlight, enjoyed theatrics. Assassin tricks never really appealed to him, but he _had_ studied the flashier ones to see if he could use them. And he found out that yes, one could use afterimage clones when running, but the maximum time was twenty seconds before the muscles started to break down.

After using it for over a minute, he was quite sure that her muscles were all mush, he could _see_ her legs bleeding from multiple places where the skin had torn, and he suspected that she felt like her bones were shattered.

When he had found her, he guessed that it was the limit of the strain her legs would take. To make it all the way to the arena door…

Well, the trail of blood told him she had dragged herself down the short hall after collapsing. She probably fainted from the pain.

After all, not everybody had the same ridiculous pain tolerance he had.

It was a pity, really. The girl would probably be unable to use her legs for quite some time.

But he was wrong. A few days later he was rudely awakened by a leg kicking him off the bed.

He sat up, rubbing the back of his head where it painfully collided with the edge of the bedside table, and sent her a wounded look. Dark blue eyes—for they _were_ dark blue when she wasn't hunting or filled with bloodlust—glinted in the glow of the moonlight and city lights shining through the overly large windows.

"Now, now. Is that any way to treat someone who has been taking care of you?" Hisoka purred, rising from the floor with as much dignity as he could muster.

"You're disgusting," her soft voice said, filled with scorn.

Hisoka only smirked. "Hm. This from the girl who has been watching me all the time?"

"You're mistaking me for yourself. You've been at all my matches, and I've been to barely half of yours," she replied, and swung her legs off the bed.

Hisoka was mildly impressed. Not many people calmly turned their backs to him. Most of the time they were frantically running away, or desperately attacking.

"You noticed," Hisoka commented.

She was silent. "Put some clothes on."

Hisoka glanced down at his naked self and shrugged. He didn't move to comply. She walked to the door, a little unsteadily, but growing stronger with each step.

"Where are you going?"

She paused, hand on the doorknob. "Home."

"You haven't repaid me," Hisoka said smoothly, eyes searching for a reaction.

Her head turned, eyes boring into his. "I would say I'll fight you, but you will eventually come for my life anyways. Why don't we leave it at 'I owe you'."

And with that, she disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

"Uncle, you called?" Luna asked, voice emotionless.

"Yes. There is a job only you can do, my dear," Cephius Valdis said.

Sixteen year old Luna cocked her head at him. He made a terrible assassin. And she did not mean it in the good way. His emotions showed in his eyes, his ambitions and desires obvious, and he was simply horrible at acting. And that did not include the way his skills had deteriorated after years off the field. She had been nine when he succeeded her father as leader of their family. He had not done a single mission since.

"You must kill the leader of the Genei Ryoudan," Cephius continued, eyes glinting with malice. "Someone who survived an attack heard his name—Chrollo Lucilfer."

Cephius studied her. If he had expected a reaction, he was greatly disappointed.

"Description?"

"Average build. Black hair, black eyes, long black coat. A cross on his forehead," Cephius replied.

"Location?"

He told her an address, she committed it to memory and created a mental route in and out. No good assassin entered with a plan—those _always_ went wrong—but every good assassin had an entry route, several exit routes, and a suicide plan. Getting caught was always worse than a quick death.

"Understood."

Luna walked out, feeling his eyes on her back the entire time.

So it was finally the Phantom Troupe, she thought as she flitted through the shadows, zetsu activated and nen entirely concealed. She didn't know the ranges of the Ryoudan's ability to sense nen, and it never hurt to be cautious. She had heard of one too many assassins who activated zetsu too late, and their target was warned when they felt the nen disappear.

Luna was always careful. She had never failed a single mission in the four years she had been active. Not to assassinate mafia, not to assassinate politicians, not to assassinate hunters. Her uncle gave her the most dangerous jobs, she knew, and it wasn't because of her capability.

Finally she halted, black clothes and hair blended into the night, and she stood on the branch staring down at the Genei Ryoudan's warehouse hideout. Eight, she sensed. Better odds of getting out than having to face the full thirteen. And one…

She recognized that nen signature, and hesitated. As an assassin she knew she could kill anyone. But she was quite sure she could not defeat _him_ at this point in time.

Yet, she snuck in. Silently, like a breath of wind, she moved behind a mountain of crates, probably filled with stolen goods. Pages of a book crinkled and turned, a man yawned, Hisoka's nen spiked and fell as he used a crate for target practice. Only this time, amongst the rhythmic rise and fall, she felt it rise a little too sharply, a little too high. He had felt her presence.

Luna held her breath, waiting for Hisoka to alert Chrollo. She knew she could sense him anywhere, even if he was using zetsu. She didn't know it went both ways. It was a miscalculation, and if she must, she would abandon the mission.

But he didn't say a word.

Her brows furrowed. Still, she didn't make the amateur mistake of looking over the crates. If anyone saw the movement, saw her pale face flash, her life would be terminated then and there.

She counted.

Ten. Nine. Eight.

Her knife fell soundlessly into her hand.

Seven. Six. Five.

Her legs tensed.

Four. Three. Two.

She fell into a crouch.

One.

Her figure blurred, and she was behind her target, knife flashing orange in the candle light as it dove for the man's throat.

He turned a page.

And the tip of the blade stopped a centimeter from his throat.

She glanced up to see Hisoka staring down at her, an unreadable expression on his face along with a variety of lust. She mentally cursed. Of course he would stop her. Her target was his leader. And more than anything else, her target was probably someone Hisoka eventually wanted to fight and kill. He would not allow her to get in the way.

"Not bad," Chrollo said, his voice smoother and younger than she expected. A little… Seductive.

Out of her peripheral vision, she saw a flash of silver disappear up her target's sleeve, and knew that if Hisoka hadn't stopped her, Chrollo would have moved.

As it was, he continued to read calmly, even as they were currently surrounded by pissed Ryoudan members, who had reacted a little too slowly to the threat for Luna's taste.

"Who are you?" The man with a katana demanded, an inch of the blade flicking out of its sheath.

Luna stayed silent, cocking her head. Did it matter? With her blade still centimeters from their danchou's throat, it should have been pretty obvious she was an assassin. Her identity didn't matter at that point.

The wannabe samurai attacked. She tensed, waiting to be cleaved in half, but at the last moment Hisoka released her wrist, and she bounced out of the katana's range. The samurai cursed, rather vulgarly.

"I'm going to kill you, boy," the samurai growled.

Boy? Luna raised an eyebrow. Her hair and face were covered. But she _had_ hit puberty and she _had_ developed a semblance of a feminine body. She was no milk cow, but she thought she was a decent size. She wasn't flat, but at least her chest wouldn't get in the way of fighting.

She inwardly shrugged. If he thought she was a boy, then so be it.

The samurai closed in in a few steps and swung. She parried with her knife, a little surprised at his strength.

She sprang back before closing in herself, flashing behind him and slicing towards his throat…

Only for her body to suddenly become immobile. Nen strings, she realized, feeling something like wires restraining her. She let out a breath in a soft sigh, and activated gyo.

Hisoka smiled, steeping back to watch. Her nen was blue, a shade lighter than her eyes. And her gyo… It only lit up a single eye, flaring like a blue flame. _Fascinating_. He had never seen anything like that.

And it seemed that she had stopped the horrid habit of fighting in zetsu. It was terribly inconvenient, Hisoka had thought, since she was limiting herself like that. Zetsu was perfect for assassinations, but for fighting… Well, one should use their nen and hatsu.

"Oi, Machi! Don't interefere," the samurai grouched, fighting stance gone as he lazily rubbed the back of his head.

Hisoka's smile widened. So Nobunaga thought it was over. Big mistake.

A chain-sickle appeared in her hand and sliced through the threads like butter, before vanishing, replaced by her knives.

A conjurer, Hisoka thought with pleasure. Just as he suspected.

Machi's eyes widened in shock, but then she was falling to the floor in a heap, unconscious.

The samurai reacted faster. He swung for her, and she retreated from Machi's body. She cocked her head at him, her body absolutely still. And unseen to anyone, her lips twitched.

And the samurai half turned, sensing the danger, but it was too late. Knives shot towards him from everywhere she had touched, and he swung, blocking everything. But he had briefly forgotten her.

Her knife flashed out, and the samurai was down.

She stepped onto his body, stomping down hard on his back to make sure he wasn't faking, before eyeing the rest warily. Hadn't it been a little too easy…?

The blonde boy—or was it a girl?—and the dark haired girl with glasses stood back. They probably were not fighters, Luna decided quickly, but she would be careful just in case. The short black haired boy was dangerous. Sadism and bloodlust radiated off of him, and she knew he would attack soon. The giant hairy man too. And her target and Hisoka… Her eyes flicked back to them. Hisoka probably wouldn't fight. He liked one on one, not six on one.

And her target was still reading.

It was then that the giant man let out a howl and _lunged_.

He moved faster than she would have expected for a man his size. As she dodged, she felt a claw dig into her arm, tearing a line through her bicep. She blinked, and ran towards him.

The hilt of her knife drove into the large man's ribs with a dull thud, but she wasn't done. Her leg swung around to kick him in the side, causing him to stumble a step, and her knife drove into his shoulder.

He blinked down at her, expression unchanging.

And she stared with growing horror as she found herself unable to pull her knife out.

She released the knife, only for his large hand to grasp her arm, yanking her up, dangling her above the ground. She felt her shoulder strain, the arm threatening to come out of its socket.

She focused.

And her katana slashed through flesh and bone.

The giant roared in pain, baring his fangs, but even as her toes touched the floor, his other hand gripped her arm painfully tightly and her opponent threw his head forward.

She nearly screamed with pain as his teeth dug into her shoulder.

Unwanted tears sprung up in her eyes, and she slammed the hilt of the katana into the side of his face, forcing him to release her. Luna stumbled back, clutching the place he had bitten her.

The Valdis family had similar training to their rival family, the Zoldycks. Her pain tolerance was quite high. But having someone nearly tear a chunk out of her with their _teeth_ of all things…

Her shoulder throbbed, her arm hung uselessly. Her other arm raised the katana in defense—

And a force hit her hard behind the head, sending her spiralling into darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

DaedraChild and Arisu-chanthehappykitty (cute name), thanks for the follow!

Guest: Thank you. I hope you will continue to enjoy the story.

* * *

Luna woke up tied to a chair. She glanced around, and felt grim satisfaction that the two she had knocked out were still unconscious, and the large man she had fought was still missing his arm.

"Ah, I see you are awake," Chrollo said, closing his book with an audible snap. The candle flame flickered. "Feitan wanted to torture you for answers, but you wouldn't talk, would you?"

She remained silent, eyeing him warily. From the scoffing sound, she deduced that Feitan was the short black haired boy. Even now she felt danger radiating off him, and the desire to just _tear_ into her. She shifted, inching the chair away from him.

"If I ask politely, will you tell me what I want to know?" Chrollo continued, and strode into the firelight.

Luna sucked in a breath, eyes growing wide. Her heart started racing in her chest. He looked so similar. _Too_ similar. Her heart clenched painfully. _Damn it_.

"Who hired you?" Chrollo asked.

"I do not know," Luna replied.

The blonde hissed in surprise. He hadn't expected a feminine, young voice. But Chrollo's face remained impassive. He prided himself on being an observant man. He had noticed her figure.

"Danchou, if we torture her she will tell us everything," Feitan said, voice raspy.

She felt Hisoka's nen leak bloodlust. Chrollo raised an eyebrow. His black eyes flicked to Hisoka, and he didn't miss the corner of a card peeking out from between the man's fingers.

"No," Chrollo said, ending the possibility, before turning to her. "Can you elaborate?"

"Yes."

He waited, but she said nothing. He sighed a little. "Please elaborate."

"My uncle gives the missions. He is the head of the family and the only one who comes into contact with clients," Luna paused for a while. "But I suspect we had no client from this job. He sent me on his own will."

Chrollo raised a delicate eyebrow. The look told her to continue.

She did. She had no idea why she was telling him so much, nor did she know why she was telling him the truth.

No. That was a lie. She knew exactly why. And apparently, from the look on Hisoka's face, he knew as well.

"He has been trying to kill me for the past seven years. He hired assassins, and when that failed, he sent me on the most dangerous missions he could find. And since nobody would hire us for anything that could kill me, he sent me to you."

"She's lying," Feitan snapped.

"She's telling the truth," Hisoka countered.

Chrollo stared at the two in the eyes, and their mouths clammed shut.

"Why didn't you kill them?" Chrollo asked quietly, gesturing to the two unconscious and one armless Ryoudan members.

Her eyes flicked over to them. "I was only supposed to kill you."

How… professional, Chrollo thought. Was she soft? No. He didn't think so. Anybody soft would not survive in the business. So why?

"That's a lie," Chrollo said softly.

She closed her eyes briefly. "Because if I had, you would kill me for sure. As it is, you only have me tied to a chair."

Chrollo didn't ask why she was trying to stay alive. He didn't need to.

Assassins, criminals, hunters… They all lived with one foot in the grave. And if she was born in an assassin family, she should know that very well. Assassins killed themselves if their missions failed.

Yet she was still alive.

And her eyes were burning with only one thing. 'I cannot die yet'.

Chrollo inclined his head just the slightest amount. It wasn't that she feared death. It seemed more like she had something she needed to do before she died, and that after she accomplished it, she would be all too willing to die when her time came.

"What is it that you need to do? What is it that you are staying alive for, even if it means living desperately?"

Luna blinked, surprised. How had he—

"No. You do not need to answer that," Chrollo decided. "One final question. Would you join the Ryoudan?"

"No."

He stared at her for a moment longer. Strange child. Unwilling to die, yet unwilling to join to preserve her life.

"We have a job to do," Chrollo finally said, eyes still on the girl even as he spoke to the group. "We leave immediately."

"Nnngh… Danchou?" Machi groaned.

"I feel like I have a hangover," Nobunaga added.

Chrollo looked over at them and _stared_. A man like him did not need to smirk or glare to intimidate anybody. And just as he intended, his two formerly unconscious spiders snapped to attention, shivers creeping up their spines.

They had _lost_. To a single assassin that they never sensed.

They had shamed Chrollo.

"Machi, fix Uvo's arm," Chrollo merely said.

"Holy fuck!" The samurai shouted. "What happened to your arm?!"

Uvo growled at him. Did he really need to ask? The samurai shot Luna a dirty look, drawing out his sword halfway.

" _Stop_ ," Chrollo said softly.

Everyone froze.

"Machi, fix Uvo's arm," Chrollo repeated, and his tone said he would not say it again.

Machi immediately set to work, and moments later, Luna was fascinated to see the arm once again fully attached and _functional_.

Chrollo stood, and gave Luna a small, knowing, _creepy_ smile. "Good night. We will see you when we return."

Everybody stared in shock.

That was _it_?

"Danchou, who's going to stay and watch her?" The samurai asked.

"Nobody."

A cacophony of protests rose from the group, and Chrollo's finger twitched. They fell silent as if someone had hit the mute button.

"Are you questioning me?" Chrollo said, and even though his face and voice were emotionless, they felt fear. "We leave. _Now_."

"Yes, danchou."

They ran. They had already spent too much time questioning the girl and waiting for their two members to wake up, and if they did not hurry, they would be late.

And suddenly the assassin's nen disappeared.

Several footsteps faltered, Feitan half turned to return and execute the girl.

"Continue," Chrollo said softly.

Feitan and Nobunaga looked like they wanted to argue, but they knew better. With their nen radiating discontent, they hurried on.

"Danchou," Hisoka breathed.

Chrollo glanced at the clown. His eyes were shining, his tongue flicking over his lips every few seconds. Chrollo almost smirked.

As he had suspected. Hisoka knew the girl. Hisoka knew the girl had been there from the beginning, even though he himself hadn't sensed anything. And if Hisoka hadn't reacted to her, if Chrollo hadn't felt Hisoka's nen change and if Hisoka had not stopped her, Chrollo knew he would be dead and lying in a pool of blood.

"Go."

And Hisoka disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6

pomxxx: I'm glad you enjoy it. I'm a little worried about Hisoka and Chrollo being out of character though. Hisoka more so than Chrollo. I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be a lot creepier, a lot sneakier, and a lot more perverted and a lot more _strange_.

* * *

She knew the moment the Ryoudan felt her leave. Their nen spiked; bloodlust and killing intent washed over her even from over a mile away.

Luna moved faster, using the quickest route away even though it meant moving in the light rather than shadow.

But they never chased after her. They wanted to. But they didn't. And she suspected Chrollo played a big role in that.

Why did Chrollo let her go? He _knew_ she was going to escape, and he had left her tied with ropes, and without a single guard. She may have defeated the samurai, Nobunaga, and Machi the nen thread user, but if he had left Hisoka, or even Feitan, she would not have been able to do anything.

Did Chrollo not know that? He should have. She was not at either of their levels yet, and it was obvious. Nobody trained her, nobody taught her anything since Nova died. After their parents died, he had taught her nen, had taught her how to fight, to assassinate. The rest was up to practice and experience.

Suddenly her breath caught, her heart skipped a beat. And she nearly tripped over a pebble. Someone was coming, and she knew very well who.

Did he really think his zetsu worked, when he had that much bloodlust radiating off of him?

She sighed. Or it could just be her and her uncanny ability to sense him no matter what.

Luna continued, ignoring his presence, giving him no sign that she had noticed him.

"I have returned," Luna said, standing in front of her uncle.

He could barely hide his shock. Luna almost rolled her eyes. How had he survived for so long as an assassin before he became inactive?

"You… You killed the leader of the Phantom Troupe?" Her uncle managed to ask.

"No. I failed," Luna said.

She felt the stares on her back. Every single Valdis member stood watching. And she watched the rage play across Cephius' face.

"You _STUPID_ girl! You _DARE_ return after _failing_ a mission?!"

Chains, his former weapon, lashed out. She felt a sting across her cheek, her legs. She didn't react. Compared to Uvo's bite, it was nothing. She scoffed inwardly. _Weak_.

"Assassins _die_ when they fail to complete a mission! And you… You!" Cephius continued, chain clanking as it lashed out over and over.

Her blue eyes stared blankly at him, and the lashes grew increasingly violent, increasingly frantic. Her hood fell from her head, revealing her face in full.

And then she _smirked._ Killing intent _seeped_ from her, as if it was leaking because she couldn't hold it all in.

Cephius froze, the chain whip dropping to the floor in a loud chain of clinks.

"G-go. You will try again tomorrow," Cephius snapped, trying to sound as if he wasn't terrified of the Valdis prodigy.

The smirk still sitting lightly on her lips, she walked straight towards the rest of her family, all in cloaks and hoods. They _shifted_ as she passed, moving as far from them as possible.

Her hand snapped out, grabbing a sleeve. "You. Come with me."

The others all held their breaths for a moment, and when their comrade nodded ever so slightly, sighed in relief.

She walked quickly, footsteps eerily silent. Her hooded follower's footsteps, on the other hand, whispered across the marble floors despite attempts to remain silent. Even though she was wearing heeled boots, even though he was wearing soft shoes.

The moment they entered her room, she flopped onto the bed with a sigh. The hooded man waited in anticipation by the doorway, not daring to get any closer to the girl.

"I'm surprised nobody sensed a stranger amongst them," Luna finally commented. "Who did you steal that from?"

"You noticed," a familiar, seductive voice drawled. "Just some unlucky weakling. Not worth killing, but I put his corpse behind the statue."

"Hmm," she glanced over at him. "Why did you follow me?"

"Because I was curious."

"And why are you standing so far away?"

"Because if I got any closer, I wouldn't be able to keep myself from killing you."

She smirked, head turning towards him. "You haven't changed, Hisoka."

"Neither have you."

"You think so?" She commented, tone light. "I'm sure I have gotten stronger."

"Yes. But you haven't reached your full potential," Hisoka said, voice strained.

"Hmm."

Hisoka fell silent, placing his full focus on containing his bloodlust, his gaze studying her.

She still looked good in blood.

"Your killing intent is leaking," Luna said.

Hisoka stopped looking at her.

"No. It's fine. Let it all out," Luna said, rising to her feet.

And her bloodlust danced up, twining with his. They felt the Valdis family _shiver_.

"I _was_ going to wait until I had the skill to deal with Cephius, but I suppose I am sick of him," Luna said lightly.

Hisoka grinned, and burst out of the room, eyes wild, giggling madly. Moments later, she heard screams of terror and agony. She sighed and shook her head. He couldn't even wait for her.

In a second, she joined him, grinning, slashing.

Hisoka shot her a glance. He had thought she would never show any emotion. She had picked up that habit of his, had she?

Hisoka felt a presence hiding. His cards spun out—

And Luna cut them down.

Hisoka raised an eyebrow, crouching to attack her.

"No," Luna said firmly, bloodlust dying down to almost nothing.

Hisoka felt a hint of disappointment, but his bloodlust followed hers, retreating to a level where he did not feel like he would kill the next thing that moved.

"Hello, uncle," Luna moved the curtain back, smirking down at the cowering form. And with a swift movement, knocked him unconscious. She turned to Hisoka, and ordered, "Carry him."

Hisoka cocked his head, but complied. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes all the way back to the Ryoudan's hideout. She walked beside him, expressionless. Even when her uncle visibly regained consciousness, she didn't react.

Hisoka looked forward to her plan.

"YOU!" Nobunaga snarled, leaping to his feet as Luna kicked open the door.

She ignored him. He seethed, and Hisoka almost smirked. As it was, his face was smug, and he dropped Cephius.

The man squealed and curled into a ball.

Hisoka stared down at him in disgust, and moved away. He couldn't believe he touched _that_ for so long. It—for Cephius could no longer be considered human—was not worth killing.

But Luna bent down, and lifting the much larger man by the back of his shirt, carried him gingerly to the furious Feitan. She cocked her head. He was going to attack her at any moment, she knew.

"Souvenir. Torture him, get information if you want. I suspect he sent me on his own, but there may actually be a client," Luna said, dropping the man in a heap at Feitan's feet. "Feel free to do whatever you want with him until he dies. But please make it last at least four hours."

Feitan's killing intent wavered, dropping into confusion. He looked down at the thing at his feet. Blinked.

"N-n-n-no! L-l-luna, d-d-dear, y-you c-can't do this! I-I'm f-f-family, r-r-right?" Cephius blubbered, reaching out and grabbing her heel.

Luna's heel snapped out, kicking out of his grasp. She crouched down, smiling. Cephius' face turned visibly hopeful.

"You stopped being family the moment you hired Hyuk Tak to kill mother and father, Cephius. And you became a target the moment you sent Hyuk Tak to kill me and Nova," Luna said sweetly. "The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because I am an assassin, and I do not have the skill to keep you alive and in agony for several hours. But Feitan does. And you will be my peace offering to the Genei Ryoudan."

And she stood, walking away.

"Feitan," Chrollo said. "Go ahead."

The short man didn't even hesitate. He dragged Cephius into another room, and the screams began.

Chrollo sighed. The sounds might give him a headache…

"Why're you here?" Nobunaga snarled.

Luna blinked, eyes blank. Why _was_ she here? "Because of Chrollo."

"If you're going to try to kill him again…" Uvo shot to his feet, followed closely by Machi and Nobunaga.

"The big one is Uvogin, or Uvo for short. The samurai is Nobunaga, the nen string user is Machi, blonde is Shalnark, the glasses girl is Shizuku, and you already know about Feitan and Hisoka," Chrollo said amiably, as if his Troupe members were not up in arms.

"Nice to meet you," Luna said, bowing slightly.

They only raised their hackles.

"You refused my offer. So why are you back?" Chrollo asked, as if he hadn't expected her to return in the first place.

"For you," Luna replied, then paused for a moment. "And Hisoka. I suppose this is the favour I owe you for four years ago."

Hisoka nodded, and Chrollo felt a hint of curiosity, but stomped it down.

"Then I will ask again. If a space opens, will you join the Ryoudan?"

"No."

Chrollo blinked, surprised. The others drew weapons.

"I hate spiders."

He blinked again, and the weapons faltered.

"I am willing to work for you and stay with you. But I will _not_ have the second most disgusting and creepy creature in the world inked permanently onto my skin," Luna said, shuddering slightly.

Hisoka started chuckling, Uvo roared with laughter. And Chrollo hid a smile.

"How do I know you will be loyal?"

"As long as you pay me," Luna said. "I will never betray you."

Hisoka looked up sharply, then relaxed. It was half a lie. How interesting. Did she herself know she was lying?

"Hmm, so the Genei Ryoudan now has a pet assassin," Shizuku commented.

Luna blinked, cocking her head with a small frown. She pointed at Uvo. "Wasn't _he_ your pet werewolf?"


	7. Chapter 7

The bus was _leaving_. Luna blinked, staring after the vehicle for a tense second, before she started running. The bus driver watched with a mixture of horror and amusement through the rear view mirror as the figure dressed in black approached at unnatural speeds.

A thump.

The figure disappeared from the mirror, but the thump told the man everything. The girl was on the roof of the vehicle.

The driver really didn't know whether to consider her lucky or unlucky. On one hand, she missed the entire scramble for the honour of passing the screening that occurred, simply by sitting outside of the bus. The other contestants did not have as much fun dealing with the rats that 'mysteriously' appeared and overran the inside of the bus.

On the other hand, she was defenseless as the bus passed through areas with poisonous snakes and a man-eating tiger that the driver had _seen_ leap over the bus, and land on the other side with something bloody in its mouth.

Needless to say, he was shocked to see the girl jump off the bus, alive, and _without a scratch_.

The people inside, on the other hand, were not nearly as lucky.

Three quarters of them ran off screaming for their mothers, and half of the remaining stumbled to the side, collapsing and waiting to die of some horrible disease the rats probably carried.

The rest started walking, some shaken and some perfectly fine.

The driver watched, bemused, as the girl looked around, and headed straight for the supermarket where the exam entry was, along with the 'survivors' of the bus ride.

"I want a fried shrimp sandwich with pineapple jam with extra chillies and frozen red bean paste," Luna said.

"Right this way, please," the store clerk said.

Luna blinked, but complied. Perhaps the food was at the back?

She walked through the door… Straight into a hole.

Her body stiffened as she slid down for a long time, and by the time she reached the bottom, she could only stand, dazed.

"Hello. What is your name?" A woman asked, smiling cheerfully.

"Luna Valdis."

"I see. You are number 44. Please do not lose your tag," the woman said, handing the numbered tag to her before turning to walk away.

"Wait," Luna said, a hand reaching out to grab the woman's sleeve.

"I'm sorry, but we are not allowed to answer any questions—"

"Where's my sandwich?" Luna asked, confused.

The woman stared at her, smile faltering. "Sandwich?"

"I asked for a shrimp sandwich and they sent me here," Luna explained. "So where's my sandwich?"

"Erm…" The woman started to look distressed. "You… You really asked for a fried shrimp sandwich with pineapple jam with extra chillies and frozen red bean paste?"

"Yes."

"And it wasn't a code you were told?"

"No. I just want my fried shrimp sandwich. I'm hungry."

The woman's face looked terribly distressed now. In all the years of the hunter exam, she had never ever heard of anybody speaking the code by accident and entering the exam. It was just a string of impossible coincidences.

"I'm sorry, but this is the Hunter Exam. Now if you'll excuse me…" The woman hurriedly detached herself.

She felt a little sorry for the girl. But hopefully the first exam this year would not be harsh, and the girl could fail without getting hurt or killed. She looked like a nice girl. Weak, though.

Luna rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was still there. Not a dream, then.

All she wanted was a sandwich…

"Hi, kid. First time?" A short, round man who looked like several people had stepped on his face asked.

"I am not a kid. I am human. And I am seventeen," Luna said blankly.

It was true. A year had passed since she had become a part of the Ryoudan, namely its live-in assassin, and she had found out that it was also a year since Hisoka had joined. She had stayed with Chrollo when the Troupe disbanded and went their separate ways until they next gathered again, and when she took the bus out of Meteor City, _all she wanted was a damned sandwich_.

"I'm sorry," the man said amiably, smiling. "I'm old, so anybody as young as you seems like a kid to me."

She blinked. "I am pretty sure I am not a baby goat."

He stared blankly at her, before smiling again, the expression a little more forced. "I'm sorry. How 'bout some chocolates as an apology? I'm Tonpa."

Luna glanced down at the sweets he offered. Her stomach reminded her that she had come for _food_. She grabbed one and practically swallowed without chewing.

"Take as many as you want," Tonpa said.

She grabbed a handful. No point wasting something nobody seemed to want to eat. It tasted pretty good. A little strange, but good.

Her head started spinning, but it felt good, almost as good as the chocolates tasted.

Tonpa grew two heads, and both heads looked uncertain. Oh, look! Giant purple drops of sweat! She wondered if he sweated poison or candy, because those were the only two substances she knew to be purple.

And when did his skin turn orange?

"Maybe you should stop…"

She glared. "More."

Tonpa visibly gulped, shoved her the entire box, and left, muttering something along the lines of it not being his fault, that it wasn't his responsibility.

And she kept eating.

Hisoka glanced around. He knew he had felt Luna's nen…

"Oi, he actually managed to trick some idiot," a candidate snickered.

"Tonpa again? I bet it was a rookie," a second one muttered.

"It's a girl. Poor thing. She ate the entire box. If the hunters don't come soon, she'll die of overdose."

"Sleeping pills this time, right? The way Tonpa stuffs drugs in food and drink is ridiculous. If she really ate the entire box even the hunters won't be able to save her," the first one scoffed.

It couldn't be…

Of course it couldn't. Hisoka knew Luna wasn't that stupid.

Actually…

Hisoka stood, moving directly towards Luna's nen. He froze, and stared, shell shocked.

"'Soka! You're so cute!" Luna slurred, giggling, face red. "I'd tap that."

Hisoka blinked. His mind stopped functioning. He had never known that could happen to him, a man who could keep his wits no matter what happened.

"You wear makeup and heels!" Luna laughed, delighted. "Kinda like a girl. But you're too masculine and hot to be a girl. Unless you're a cross dresser? That would make me sad. I like men. Oh wait. You had a penis four years ago…"

"Luna…" Hisoka paused, and sniffed. His brows furrowed. "Are you _drunk_?"

"No! Silly, I'm underage!"

Hisoka's eyes snapped down to the empty box of chocolates. On the side of the box, the words 'Rum Balls' glared up at him. Hm. She _was_ drunk.

He should have known. Drugs didn't work on assassins like her. Nova had told him that a long time ago. Assassins were exposed to pain and drugs and poisons since birth, until they gained immunity. They were immune, and as a side effect—or perhaps a bonus—their blood became poisonous.

Hisoka was pretty sure Uvo had been poisoned a year ago when he bit the girl, but the giant body and the tiny amount of blood ingested meant the man didn't even notice. Of course he didn't. Even if he had been affected, he wouldn't have the brain cells to notice.

Hisoka stared blankly at the girl. He had thought alcohol tolerance would be another thing they trained for, but apparently the girl's body never got the message.

" 'Soka~" Luna grinned, glancing innocently up at him through her lashes.

Hisoka blinked.

The alarm rang.

"Candidates! The exam will begin now!" A voice yelled, silencing everyone in the room.

Luna cocked her head cutely.

Hisoka sighed. What was he supposed to do with _that_?


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you EvilRandomCrazyPerson, HikariSatsuko, and ShinobiShinigami58 for the follows/favs.

pomxxx: I am quite good about uploading. For now. Just wait until the Hunter Exams are over and I have no clue what to write... Especially since I haven't really decided on the plot yet.

After reading Lunartick's work for the second or third time, I find that my story is strangely... not good enough. But I'm trying.

* * *

" 'Soka," Luna grinned.

It was… Unsettling. He had seen rage on the normally emotionless girl, even a smirk that promised death.

But an _innocent_ _smile_ of all things…

"Haha! Cute!" Luna giggled at the array of emotions that played over Hisoka's face.

Hisoka took a step back. Cute. That was the one thing he had _never_ been called. And he had hoped never to hear that word associated with his person. He wasn't sure he liked the drunk Luna.

"Excuse me, I think you have the wrong person."

" 'Soka," Luna pouted, hand snatching out to grab his pants in a death grip. " 'Soka."

He was feeling quite murderous now. His eyes searched for the man who had drugged _his_ prey. But the chubby idiot had disappeared.

Hisoka felt a little disappointed. Hn. For an idiot he was pretty smart to hide from Hisoka's reach.

In fact, everybody in the room inched away from him and his aura that promised death to anyone who even _looked_ his way.

Except Luna. She laughed.

"Killing intent!" Her face lit up. "More!"

He was highly uncomfortable now. She had _no_ killing intent right then, so her joy was simply off putting.

Therefore, you couldn't really blame Hisoka for feeling relieved when she keeled over, practically dead at his feet.

He bent down and poked her a few times, making sure she was down for the count, before heaving a small sigh of relief. He then wondered if he was being stupid for putting the girl on his back, to possibly torture him later.

Well, he _had_ always considered himself a sadomasochist.

"Excuse me, but Contestant 44…" the man said.

"What about her?" Hisoka asked, turning, long strides eating up the ground, forcing the man to use an awkward half jog to keep up.

"She's… Well, she's _unconscious_."

"Yes, she is, isn't she," Hisoka mused, eyes flicking to the girl on his back.

"And, well, the hunter exams aren't so kind to let an unconscious person pass," the man hesitated, feeling the aura of danger radiating off Hisoka. "And I heard the rumour that she consumed enough drugs to kill a herd of elephants."

"Probably," Hisoka agreed.

He wondered if he could kill the irritating fly asking him questions.

But he decided against it. He didn't know when they could next wash, and he doubted she would be very happy to smell like blood and guts for who knows how long. And she wouldn't even fight him because of it. No, she was more likely to ignore him.

So ignoring the man, Hisoka lengthened his stride into a jog, and quickly left the man huffing and gasping for air far behind him.

It didn't take long to figure out what the first exam was. An obstacle course. It was easy, of course. So easy that it was almost disappointing, if he didn't think there would be something more _fun_ coming up later.

Hisoka easily swung himself and his burden over rivers and jumped off cliffs, passing the people huffing and puffing and shaking with terror.

Oh look, a giant alligator.

He stepped on its snout, forcefully clamping its jaw shut, before bouncing over to the next one.

At the other side, he decided that it was only polite to thank the creatures for acting as his bridge.

"Good alligator," Hisoka cooed, and reached down to pat the stunned beast on its head.

It promptly flicked its tail, and its friend jumped out of the water, snatching Luna straight off Hisoka's back.

Hisoka blinked, staring at the water where Luna and the alligator had disappeared, then shook his head.

"No. Bad alligators," he _smiled_ playfully.

The alligator, of course, had a bad feeling. It was not a predator without knowing how to survive, and its instincts were telling him to run-swim-fly-anything to get as far away from the seemingly-but-not-quite prey as fast as possible.

So it did.

Except Hisoka was nothing if not fast.

And the alligator found itself wishing its tail was a lot shorter, as Hisoka grabbed the appendage and used it to propel the alligator into the spot where Luna had vanished.

The girl came floating up, her cloak torn up but otherwise unharmed, and the two unconscious alligators bobbed to the surface of the water, bumps on their heads.

Hisoka stepped gingerly on their bellies to reach the girl, studying her for injuries. He found none.

And he found that she had the ability, when drunk, to _remain unconscious no matter what_.

Hisoka held her by the back of the cloak. She stank of swamp water now, and he really needed to find a body of clean water to dunk her in before he let any part of her touch him again.

He liked smelling _good_ , thank you very much, and rather disliked anything filthy. Blood didn't count.

His gaze moved to the alligator he was standing on. It froze, playing dead, hoping the man standing on it would ignore it and just _go away_.

It also swore never to attack another human, and live off the less dangerous prey. Like the giant alligator eating gazelles that came by every once in a while.

To its relief, Hisoka hopped off it, still dangling the human it had tried to eat. It promptly disappeared underwater, leaving its still unconscious 'friend' to fend for itself.

Hisoka, on the other hand, had already forgotten the alligators. He needed to find a body of _clean_ water. The _smell_ …

Dead people, dead animals, blood, guts, feces, and general decaying matter did not really help the water smell very good. It was simply a general rule of the world. Therefore, anything that _touched_ the said water and survived ended up smelling just as bad. Of course, surviving meant they also had to make sure not to get any strange and possibly fatal diseases, but Hisoka was pretty sure Luna was also immune to many virus and bacteria, and that whatever she did have inside her was more deadly than what a mere swamp would cause.

But he wasn't immune, no matter how many peoples' blood and guts had spilled over him in his life.

So he didn't bother feeling any guilt when he found a nice lake and threw her in, before proceeding to scrub his hands and any body part that had touched the girl after he dug her out of the alligator infested water.

He was quite sure she wouldn't drown. She didn't train as an assassin and become the Genei Ryoudan's pet just to _drown_ in a lake.

However, he did feel quite irritated when he saw a group of flesh eating fish swarm towards where he threw her body.

And then red exploded, blossoming into the water.

"Well. Damn," Hisoka said mildly.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you, LokilkutoDracoHookDoctorSpike for following the story.

As Darkness Takes Over: Oh dear. Flat? I suppose there aren't really enough details, so I'll have to start mending that. I'm still too close to the first few chapters, and a few days isn't usually enough for me to distance myself. I'll probably look back in a few years and decide to rewrite everything, but for now, I'll try to add more to the future chapters.

* * *

When he dragged Luna out of the bloodied water with his nen, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry. He knew he shouldn't have. If he had taken Luna out sooner, or if he hadn't dumped her in like that, so much potential wouldn't have been lost.

That was a _lot_ of blood…

"I wish you better luck in your next life," Hisoka prayed sincerely.

Then, since he wasn't used to feeling pity, immediately forgot about it.

He turned to Luna. Her normally pale skin was nearly a translucent white from blood loss, but the blood red bite marks that stood out against her skin were already half healed.

And she was still unconscious, peacefully snoring away. Actually, she didn't snore. It was fatal for assassins to make any noise, especially while sleeping. That led to her looking like a faintly breathing corpse.

Which was why he checked for a pulse. He found one. Quite a strong one too.

Good. She wasn't that easy to kill.

Killing her would be _fun_ … Hisoka almost giggled.

His eyes turned to the lake. The waters were still deceptively clear, but Hisoka had no doubt that the poison from her blood lurked under the calm waters, ready to slaughter anything that so much as _touched_ the liquid. Her blood was _that_ poisonous.

Then he shrugged and put Luna back on his back, now that she smelled neutral again. He never could say she smelled good, since she never did. She never had any smell, physically, because that was fatal for assassins too. The best ones, such as her, Nova, and Illumi Zoldyck, never made any noise, never gave any sign that they had arrived and were in the process of killing you, and never left any traces of themselves behind. That included scent.

Her nen, on the other hand…

After he scaled another cliff—read bounced using bungee gum—and walked calmly through an underground tunnel filled with rats—he was glad she wasn't awake, or she would have screamed—she _finally_ stirred.

"Hisoka," she mumbled into his neck, and he felt goose-bumps rise where her breath fanned out over his skin. Then, "Hisoka!"

He promptly dropped her.

Sitting on her behind, she glared balefully up at him.

"You're finally awake," Hisoka observed.

"Dizzy. Wanna throw up. Head hurts. Ugh," she eloquently answered.

"Only your head?" Hisoka asked cautiously.

She was dry from the time he dunked her into the water, but she _had_ been dragged into the water once by oversized alligators and again by some sort of flesh eating fish.

The latter of which she wiped out just by bleeding into the water, by the way.

"Head hurts. Dizzy," she repeated, back to her emotionless self. "Carry me."

"I have been carrying you," Hisoka said mildly, grinning. "I didn't do it for free."

For the first time, she looked around, squinting at the sunlight that hit her eyes. She wasn't in the room anymore, she noticed. Instead…

It wasn't really a swamp. The terrain looked like a swamp and a mountainous region had copulated and given birth to _this_ strange landscape. She had no idea where she was on the map, as assassins were rarely sent out to places uninhabited by humans. Therefore, she concluded, she had either been kidnapped and forced to ingest alcohol in order for Hisoka to feed her to a creature he wanted to fight more than he wanted to fight her, or she was in the Hunter Exam.

"I just wanted a sandwich…" she mumbled, head falling forward.

Hisoka blinked at her, almost surprised. But it was just like her to do something like that. It took him a while to find the Hunter Exam, and he left a trail of corpses along the way. He only kept one alive to guide him.

And _she_ got in accidentally.

It was just like her to ask for such a strange food item…

"I'll keep carrying you. For a price," Hisoka said, drawing her attention back to him.

"Fine."

Hisoka blinked. That was it? She won't ask what the price was?

Hm. How dangerous. For her, that is.

"Alright," Hisoka purred. "Just don't throw up on me."

"Stupid rum chocolates," she muttered, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. "Never drinking again."

So Hisoka vowed to get her drunk again, and possibly fight her in that state. It would probably be interesting. If she didn't just stand there laughing at him, that is.

"You've grown," Hisoka commented suddenly.

"Hm?"

"They're pressing against my back. They weren't that well developed in the Heaven's Arena, and when you tried to kill Chrollo—he's my prey, by the way, so don't do that again—your clothes were hiding everything," Hisoka said, as calmly as if he was talking about the weather.

It said a lot about the state of her head when it took her five minutes to realize he was talking about her chest.

But she only sighed. "I would kick you in the balls, but you would enjoy that. So I'll punish you by staying on your back and sleeping while you do all the work."

Hisoka's lips twitched in amusement. She knew him too well.

"What did I miss?" Luna murmured.

That also said a lot about the state of her head. If she was sober, she would know that talking and listening to someone talk would aggravate her headache, no matter how _nice_ the other person's voice was.

Fortunately Hisoka knew about hangovers, since he had one once. His first one involved a lot of alcohol, bearded female dominatrix strippers, a bomb, a giant purple lizard, and sex. He woke up naked next to the lizard, with a lot of tiny bite marks peppering his skin.

He proceeded to swear off drinking enough to get _that_ drunk, because he still didn't remember where he put the bomb.

"Obstacles, alligators, fish," Hisoka replied. "Oh, and I think you should pass the exam, because you may or may not have made a whole species or more extinct."

"Me?"

"Yes. You bled into a lake."

She blinked, the dark blue eyes going blank. "Oh. Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

"Okay. Head hurts too much to try to kill you anyways," she said, indicating to him that her brain was working a little better.

He felt her breathing even out, growing so shallow that he could barely feel it. He felt like he was carrying a corpse, but fought the urge to drop her again. She would probably just lie there asleep, and he wouldn't get to fight her later if she got eaten.

It wasn't until he smelled blood and burning flesh, and saw people resting in peace—or pieces—that he stopped, and considered trying to wake her up.

It was obviously the last obstacle, considering that he could see the hunter leading the exam on the other side of the dual cliffs.

The problem was, the cliffs were too close together for him to pass with her still on his back, and he couldn't climb them either, considering that he could not see the top. It reached into the clouds, and it was a _sunny_ day almost free of clouds. That left going through, and judging by the seared pieces of exam candidates, the path through was rigged with traps. Most likely fire or lasers.

"Chibi-tan," Hisoka murmured.

No reply.

" _Chibi_ ," Hisoka repeated firmly, dropping the honorific he knew would annoy her.

No reply.

He let out a little killing intent.

She shot off his back with a violent kick, eyes focused, knife in her hand. He would have said her face fell into the blank mask assassins used, but it was _always_ like that, so he didn't. He only stared at her, amused, as she blinked and realized where she was.

Still, he couldn't help but notice that her nen had remained 'untrained' and raw, nothing like the sharp and precise nen he had seen several times, and she refrained from using zetsu, her hunting mode.

Hisoka almost pouted. Was his killing intent _that_ weak? Because he could see the examiners on the other side tensed up just from the tiny burst of nen.

"Oh. It's just you," she said and put the weapon away.

Hisoka thought that he could never be considered 'just' someone, since people usually ran away in terror. Or they laughed at him, _then_ screamed and attempted to run away with one leg, before he took their head off too.

But her attention had already turned away from him and towards the cliff. She picked up a rock and threw.

Lasers immediately shot out, disintegrating the rock.

"0.05 second reaction time," Luna murmured.

"How high does it go?" Hisoka asked, moving to stand beside her.

She threw another rock, this time aiming upwards. It went pretty high up. Hisoka thought he could do better, but it was a decent throw.

And he would _never_ say she threw like a girl, because she didn't. She threw like an assassin used to throwing knives deep into the throats of her targets and nearly decapitating them with that single attack.

"Probably all the way up," she told him. "Wouldn't put it past them."

Hisoka hummed, lips pursed. "Ladies first."

"Alright then. Go ahead."

" _Assassins_ first," Hisoka amended.

"I suppose the nice man following us won't let me pass unless I do _something_ ," Luna sighed, and _moved._

Hisoka watched, pleasure pooling low in his belly. She moved like a shadow, swift and silent, blurring through the crevice. For a moment, there was nothing, and then all the lasers shot out at once.

They hit air, of course. She was already on the other side.

Now that Hisoka had been alerted to their watchers, he felt their surprise. He was a little surprised himself, that those two could keep up with him, even if he had been moving quite slowly. But if they were professional hunters, he supposed they had to be capable of at least that much. Now if they _fought_ , it would be a very different story. On his scale, they were only a seven.

On the other side, Luna cocked her head at him, as if to say 'hurry up'.

Never keep a lady waiting.

He broke into a run. He could have walked, really, but lasers were _hot_. They shot at him, the red beams forming a tangled web in the crevice, but they didn't even graze him. They were weak lasers compared to some he had seen—there was the time when his Heaven's Arena opponent used nen beams to break through nen barriers before the woman herself went to cut him up with blunt scissors—but these weren't meant to deal with nen anyways. So the lasers simply bounced harmlessly off his nen shield, and he made it out to the other side, unscathed.


	10. Chapter 10

Hisoka sat on a rock, bored out of his mind. If he could just _fight_ Luna… But no. She refused to fight him after he threw her into a lake and nearly fed her to a bunch of fish. She had deduced that, quite accurately he might add. He could never say she wasn't a smart one. And he wasn't quite willing to use up the favour right then, especially when the examiner could stop the fight at any time.

So he built card fortresses and waited for all the other candidates to arrive.

Because at least then he could have the entertainment of watching them attempt to get through the lasers. His wish was granted, of course. Enough people got cut apart that the hunters had to kind of… _sweep_ the corpse pieces away. The bodies would probably go to feed some animals in the area.

He also noted with a mixture of disappointment and amusement when the hunters proceeded to hang a sign saying 'Warning: Lasers' in front of the crevice.

There _were_ a few idiots after that who were either illiterate or lacked the brain cells necessary to comprehend the sign. But the majority created a crowd on the other side.

Hisoka was beginning to think that he and Luna would be the only two left. He wouldn't mind. It meant they passed the Hunter Exam and therefore could go somewhere more interesting, like perhaps a nest of mafia or the hunter chairman, and antagonize everyone.

But then some genius came up with the idea of moving as a group and plugging up the laser holes.

It didn't work very well since only one person could get through at a time, but when you consider it, it worked well enough. A 'few' were sacrificed—meaning they got cut apart and their body parts plugged up the lasers—while the majority got through. The 'few' consisted of a hundred or so candidates, but that didn't really matter, now did it?

"Good. You passed," the examiner said, almost disdainfully.

Hisoka cocked his head at the man. If he didn't like people sacrificing each other, he shouldn't have created that sort of obstacle.

"There are too many of you," the examiner continued.

With that, Hisoka felt satisfied. Ah, that he could understand. The test _was_ too easy.

Many more of these simple exams and he would kill someone.

"As you can see, we are at the docks," the examiner said.

Way to state the obvious…

"Your next exam is on that ship."

The weary group trudged its way onto said ship. Hisoka and Luna hung back, watching the others pass.

"Well?" The examiner asked impatiently, eyeing the two.

"My legs are asleep," Luna said.

"And I'm bored," Hisoka said. "Fight me?"

"JUST GET ON THE DAMNED SHIP!" The examiner burst out.

"Jeez, touchy," Luna huffed in a monotone, and walked past.

Hisoka noted with mild amusement that humans could indeed turn purple with rage.

"That was too easy. Make a more difficult test next time," Hisoka said, and watched the man turn blue. "Toodles~!"

Hisoka stepped on the white and blue ship, two long fingers tapping his chin as he considered it. It was obviously a hunter's ship, with all that nen surrounding it. He wondered if it had missiles and bombs that he could filch. He needed to replace the bomb he lost on that night of drunkenness. He never knew when one could be useful in creating a distraction for the weaklings while he went for the big boss.

But he changed his mind with a small sigh. It would not only be difficult to carry a bomb through the remaining exams, it would also mean he would smell like gunpowder, and he didn't like the smell of gunpowder. There was a reason he used cards and nen to fight, instead of cliché weapons like guns and blades.

"I am Morel Mackernasey, your examiner for the second exam," a large old man boomed.

The candidates felt the ship move, and start tilting from side to side. Several immediately rushed to the sides to throw up.

"Anybody who gets seasick should jump off and swim to shore. There aren't any dangerous animals in the oceans," Morel said. "Yet."

The same people who threw up immediately dove in head first. Hisoka felt his nose wrinkle in disgust. Did they really want to dive into water with their vomit? He was _not_ going to touch the ocean. Who _knew_ how many people and animals had defecated or vomited or otherwise spilled their insides into the water.

"The rest of you may rest until tomorrow. Be on deck at ten in the morning. I will give you the details of the exam then," Morel said. "Oh, and food will only be provided today. Starting tomorrow you obtain your own food. We spend three days at sea, including today. Dismissed!"

Grumbling, the hunter candidates rushed for the rooms, each trying to get the best sleeping area. And since that didn't really matter to Hisoka and Luna, they stayed on deck, watching the ocean speed by. There was a lot of water. And more water.

Oh look, an empty soda can! How rude of people to dump their trash into the ocean. As if they didn't wash all their organic waste into the water, they had to add the inorganic matter as well.

"I suppose there's no fighting this time either," Hisoka murmured forlornly.

"No. Fighting is forbidden this round," Morel said.

Hisoka sighed.

"Calm down. You'll get to fight eventually," Luna said.

"That's true," Morel said. "Every hunter exam has at least one stage where you must fight. But you must pass my stage first."

Hisoka gave a noncommittal hum.

"Come on. Let's find a room before they're all taken," Luna said.

"It's two to a room," Morel called out.

Luna couldn't help but think he should have told them that before. But it didn't matter. They could clear out any room easily. She tugged on Hisoka's sleeve. Hisoka followed rather obediently.

Morel cocked his head. The girl, candidate 44, looked young. A little too young to be taking the exam. Was she twelve? Couldn't be. Her body did not belong to a twelve year old, no matter how young her face looked. And she was just short compared to the man following her.

Morel frowned. It wasn't that she looked _young_. No, she looked _innocent_. Weak. She looked like a china doll, with pale skin, long dark hair, and dark eyes, fragile and so easily broken. Like something that did not belong in the Hunter Exam. He felt a little pity for the girl. It would be best if she failed in this round. If he knew the examiners, the next round would be brutal, and the final round even more so.

The red haired man, candidate 23, had probably helped her through the first stage. They looked close. But he couldn't help her forever.

Just as Luna suspected, all the rooms were taken. Most already had two people, but some only had one.

Luna took one room. Its occupant was the man who had drugged her.

"Oh my god! You're _alive_!" Tonpa shrieked.

"Yes," Luna said.

Tonpa began trembling in his shoes. Was she going to kill him? Maim him in his sleep?

No. She _smiled_. And the expression was so horrifying that he fainted dead away.

Luna stared at him, the smile dropping. She had to smile more often. It seemed more effective than glaring when it came to scaring people.

And people said smiles were friendly and sweet…

She sat on the second bed, preparing to settle in…

Her neighbour burst in. Luna put away the knife. The woman had _no idea_ how close she was to having her throat slit.

"Nonononono! You came with him, _you_ sleep with him!" The woman half shouted, hysterical.

Ah. So she was Hisoka's new roommate.

"Go! Shoo! You can have the room! I'll stay here!" The woman said, cold sweat on her brow.

Correction. She was Hisoka's new former roommate.

So Luna shrugged and vacated the room, and entered Hisoka's room without knocking. She also caught the card Hisoka threw without looking to see who entered. His nen, thick and sweet and filled with murderous intent, retreated. And then he looked up and smiled, holding out a hand for the card.

Luna contemplated tearing it into pieces before returning it as confetti. But he _had_ gotten her out of rooming with the cowardly idiot who looked like his mother had stomped on his face a few times when he was born.

So she sharpened the card with her own nen and flung it into Hisoka's pillow, careful not to cut him. If she drew blood, he would want to fight. And she still had remnants of that headache…

If alcohol amplified the effect of drugs, it probably went the other way around too. It was enough to make the assassin swear off everything except rubbing alcohol.

And with that, the night passed. The next morning had those smart enough to filch food from last night's dinner full from breakfast and waiting on deck, and the rest waiting on deck with empty stomachs.

"The second exam begins now!" Morel boomed.


	11. Chapter 11

"First, you will throw your badges overboard," Morel said. "Three by three."

Luna raised her eyebrow, but did not otherwise comment. It took forever, considering that several hundred people remained from the first exam. Hisoka found it even more boring than waiting for people to get through the crevice during the first exam, but he was probably biased because there was a lot less blood and death this time around. When everyone was finally done, Morel stepped up once again, grinning.

"Now the exam. For one thing, you will have to get your own food. The cooks will prepare it if you do, but you will have to get the ingredients yourselves. And for the second thing, to pass you have to get your badge back within the remaining two days. The exam ends at ten in the morning the day after tomorrow"

Someone raised their hand. "Can we begin now?"

"Of course. But—" Morel's eyes bulged behind his sunglasses. "OI!"

The group rushed to the edge. Morel began cursing as several members dove into the water. It didn't even take ten seconds before blood bloomed. A head bobbed to the surface, eyes wide with terror and very clearly _dead_ , considering that it lacked its body. And _that_ didn't float for very long before a very large jaw filled with very large and very pointy teeth shot out of the water and gulped the head down without chewing.

And with _that_ , several people hurled.

Luna glanced over to Hisoka, and smirked. Of course. It was _Hisoka_.

In his hand he held his badge, dripping seawater. His lips stretched into a smile, and he put a finger to his lips as if to say 'hush'. He discreetly pocketed his tag.

She didn't need 'gyo' to know he had attached Bungee Gum to the tag before he threw it into the water.

Unfortunately she didn't have such a handy skill, so she had to deal with the problem in a different way. She turned back to peer into the water. Several large shadows circled the ship, waiting for more food. They had eaten every last scrap of the idiots who jumped in, and the blood was diffusing into the rest of the ocean, drawing in more of the monstrous sharks, and clearing the water of red.

" _Listen_ when an examiner talks, damn it!" Morel growled, and Luna immediately knew he didn't like his candidates dying.

He should have chosen a different exam, then.

"As you can see, there are deadly giant man eating sharks in there. Jump in, and you _will_ die," Morel continued, face tight.

Nervous murmurs broke out.

"How the hell will we get the badge back from _that?!_ " A candidate screamed.

"You could always come back next year. The contents of the exam will change when examiners change," Morel said quietly.

Luna felt his eyes on her, knew he was directing those words at her as much as he was at everyone else. She ignored him. She would pass this year, since she had gone through this much trouble already.

 _And she still hadn't gotten her sandwich_.

She sighed. Chrollo was probably wondering if the sandwich had eaten her instead.

"If you want, I can retrieve your badge too," Hisoka drawled quietly, so only she could hear, eyes half closed as he observed the girl.

"When did you attach Bungee Gum to my badge?" Luna raised an eyebrow.

"When I was carrying you," Hisoka told her. "As a tracer."

"Hm. I'll get it myself. Somehow I don't like owing you."

Hisoka chuckled, sitting down to toy with his cards and watch the entertainment at the same time. "Suit yourself. Don't get eaten. You're _my_ prey."

She sat down next to him. "Yes, yes. If you wait too long to kill me, I might just become stronger than you and kill you instead."

Immediately Hisoka's killing intent washed over her. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw his fists clench in an attempt to contain himself. He was breathing hard, an insane grin stretching over his face. She saw Morel glance sharply at him, then at her.

Nobody else noticed, all focused on the sharks.

Normal humans were not very good at sensing danger, were they?

Long minutes stretched out, Morel tensed and ready to pounce, but Hisoka's bloodlust slowly died down.

"Aah, you really shouldn't do that," Hisoka pouted. "Makes me want to prematurely tear holes into you and bathe in your blood."

"I'm surprised you resisted," Luna said, not sounding very surprised at all.

"Of course. You're my precious Valdis. The last one. _My prey_ ," Hisoka purred.

"And after that you'll turn to the Zoldycks to get your taste of assassins," Luna commented wryly.

"Of course," Hisoka said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

They were silent then, Luna waiting for nightfall, and Hisoka waiting for time to pass. He couldn't wait to see what his assassin would come up with. Knowing conjurers, it would probably be straightforward and foolproof.

He felt a weight against his shoulder, and glanced over to see that she had fallen asleep. He didn't blame her. Watching people fish for their tags wasn't the most interesting sight.

Hisoka looked up. Morel's eyes bulged at the sight of the girl lying so casually on Hisoka's shoulder. He knew because of the way the facial muscles moved, even though the sunglasses hid the man's eyes themselves. Hmm… Morel wasn't bad. Might make a pretty interesting fight. Not as good as Chrollo or Illumi, of course. Not even as good as Luna, and she still needed around a year to catch up to Illumi's level.

He knew Morel expected him to slit her throat, maim her, _something_ that would satisfy the bloodlust the man had felt earlier.

So Hisoka just played cards.

Solitaire was interesting and boring at the same time, especially when you're using a large deck compiled of many many incomplete decks.

After all, it was easy to lose cards that he had thrown, and some had simply become… destroyed after being exposed to so much blood and gore.

And in some cases he had no interest in touching a card that had gone through the brains of someone whose blood was probably so contaminated that Hisoka would not touch it with a ten foot stick.

When night fell, Luna woke and stretched, as if an alarm clock was set within her. She walked to the edge of the ship and glanced over the side.

Did sharks sleep?

Apparently a few people had the same idea, because they slipped silently into the water…

Before they burst back out, screaming as they were consumed from their feet upwards.

The screaming melted into a bloodcurdling silence.

Well, that answered the question.

Hisoka raised his eyebrow at Luna as she stood in front of him with a small sigh.

"Sharks don't sleep," was Luna's answer, and he nodded in understanding.

They went to sleep that night on a completely empty stomach.


	12. Chapter 12

Morning found Luna's bed empty. Hisoka ran a hand over the surface. It was cold, so she had been out of bed for quite some time. He ambled slowly to the deck, where he knew he would find her. Hisoka squinted at the overly bright sunlight and an unexpected heat washed over him. He had pale skin, which meant he would burn easily. And so would Luna.

Speaking of the girl, he found Morel watching her as well. Everyone else was watching the water and fishing, desperate to retrieve their tags and pass the exam.

Luna glanced over the moment she felt Hisoka's nen.

"Good morning," Hisoka said.

"Morning," Luna nodded.

And she proceeded to strip.

Morel's eyes bulged, his jaw dropped. One man coincidentally looked back at her, made an incoherent sound, and suddenly all eyes were on the girl.

Thankfully she stopped when she was in her underwear. The rest of her clothes were in Hisoka's hands. He grinned, surveying her body. She _did_ have a better figure than he thought.

His tongue flicked out over his lips, his grin growing, his eyes hazing over with lust. Bloodlust. "Don't get eaten."

She only nodded in acknowledgement before she moved to the side of the deck, bare feet silent, and glanced over. As she expected, dark shadows loomed, swimming languidly under the surface.

She swung over and started moving down the ladder.

"O-oi!" Morel shouted. "Don't—"

Too late. She dropped soundlessly into the water, and the crowd moved back uneasily. Nobody enjoyed watching someone get eaten. And even if they were sadists, they were quite sick of watching the gory sight after having seen several members of their group torn apart and eaten while struggling and desperate.

The bloodlust and killing intent that had skyrocketed every time someone entered the water shot up again, and Morel felt dread weigh in like a heavy boulder in the pit of his stomach. So young and innocent… And so very dead.

Hisoka giggled, moving to peer into the bloody water.

Morel's eyes shot to the man at the sound, and his jaw dropped in disbelief.

"You! She trusted you!" Morel snarled, storming over to Hisoka. "You were her _partner_! She was _comfortable_ with you, you _bastard_! And yet you're laughing and watching her die?!"

"Oh, relax and enjoy the show," Hisoka drawled, quivering in excitement.

He felt his nether regions harden. He knew this bloodlust. And it was far stronger than what any shark could create. He licked his lips as the sharks all attacked the middle of the blood pool. Morel's fists clenched, but he ignored the man. If he wanted a fight he would get one, but currently Hisoka was focused on Luna…

Could someone hold their breath for so long?

The answer was yes, in fact. She was _good_ at holding her breath. Luna once had a cold and couldn't breathe without her nose making whistling noises, so she simply stopped breathing. In eight minutes, she went in, killed the target, killed all the guards, and went back out. All without taking a single breath.

In hindsight, she realized she could have just breathed through her mouth.

But approaching the six minute mark, her eyes were stinging from the salt as she searched for her tag. She spotted it.

And she spotted the shark swimming up behind her.

She didn't even bother turning, nor attacking. She let her bloodlust out full force, and the shark turned tail. If sharks could yelp, it would have.

She picked up the tag, clipping it to the strap of her bra, and swam back towards the surface.

Luna could hardly believe it when another shark attacked.

She grinned, with too many teeth for it to be a smile. A nen knife flashed out, cutting the oversized and over-fanged fish from belly to tail, and its guts—and several human pieces—spilled out. It writhed with pain. She felt a little sorry for it. It didn't ask to be so hungry all the time.

So she slit its throat and grabbed its tail.

She burst out of the water with a gasp, and quickly ascended the ladder. She didn't need the other sharks consuming _her_ lunch and dinner.

"And you call yourself a human?!" A hunter candidate snarled. "She was your companion! We watched you carry her through the first exam!"

"You're strange. You should be glad there is one less opponent," Hisoka said, genuinely confused. "Besides, she's not a companion. Just a convenient body."

A conveniently strong body to fight and make things easier before the fight, of course. What else?

He felt something tickle the back of his mind, and his hand shot out to grab…

A badge?

He turned, only to see a shark climb the ladder…

Only to flop lifelessly onto the deck, bleeding blood and saltwater all over the place.

"Don't say something so easily misunderstood, idiot. Who's a convenient body?" Luna swung over onto the ship. "My eyeballs feel shrivelled."

Hisoka smirked as he wordlessly handed her clothes back. She shook her head, a hand pushing the clothes back.

"Salt will ruin the material."

Dripping seawater, she grabbed the shark's tail and pulled it along, leaving a trail of blood and saltwater as she brought it into the kitchen. The staff stared.

"Edible?" Luna asked.

They could only nod, their words caught in their throat.

"Lunch and dinner," Luna said, and walked out.

Hisoka was waiting in their room, her clothes set on her bed. She nodded in thanks and stepped into the shower before the salt could dry out and ruin her hair. Soft hair good. Dry, straw-like hair bad.

She exited the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around her.

" _Clothes_ , Chibi," Hisoka said lightly.

"I don't have spare underwear."

"So you're going to wear the towel?"

"I don't have spare clothes either."

"Hello? Room service?" Hisoka drawled into the phone. "We'd like clothes laundered."

Five minutes later someone came knocking on the door. Luna raised an eyebrow. Hisoka started stripping, and she averted her gaze when he got down to his underwear.

"You don't have to act shy. You've seen me naked before," Hisoka teased.

"Die."

But she caught his clothes—and underwear—and took the pile of their clothes to the waiting laundry lady. The clothes would return in two hours. In the meantime they lounged in towels after Hisoka's shower.

Luna found herself staring. She had known he was good looking when she was twelve and not hormonal. Now that she was a hormonal sixteen year old teenager, she found him _hot_. Not that she knew what temperature had to do with someone's looks.

She felt desire stir in the pit of her belly. He looked _really_ nice with his hair down. Even better than with his hair up.

So she turned away. Attraction towards an insane sociopath was a bad, _bad_ idea. Especially if said insane sociopath obviously felt sexual attraction towards her.

He would probably tear her into pieces during sex, the sadist that he was. True, there was S&M that usually didn't involve either party bleeding to death, but Hisoka didn't really understand the difference between a major and a minor wound.

Once, he held a man hostage just for the fun of it. It ended with Hisoka saying 'oops'. He had intended to nick the man slightly and scare the police. Who knew he had 'nicked' the jugular?

And once, Luna watched as he sliced his opponent's belly open in a Heaven's Arena match. He proceeded to look genuinely confused when the man collapsed in a pool of blood and guts. He later told Nova that he had 'just cut the man a little', and that he never expected his opponent to 'die from such a puny wound'.

No, Luna would definitely avoid a sexually aroused Hisoka. Especially when what sexually arouses the man is usually blood, death, pain, and bloodlust.

… It didn't hurt just to _look_ , right?

"Like what you see?" Hisoka smirked, catching her eyes.

Luna regained composure pretty quickly. "Yes. The ocean is quite nice."

A scowl flashed across Hisoka's face before he smirked again, rolling off the bed and moving to hover over her, hands on either side of her head.

"I don't think—"

 _Knock knock_.

Hisoka shot an annoyed look at the door. Luna opened it, and Hisoka glanced down in surprise, and found the bed empty. When did she…

"Our clothes. Thank you." She didn't smile. She didn't want the nice laundry lady to faint from fear.

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

Hisoka straightened, and found his face full of clothes.

"Get dressed. Let's go to lunch," Luna said.

"Is that a date?" Hisoka asked, a lazy smile forming on his lips.

"You wish."


	13. Chapter 13

It was quite rude of the others to avoid her, Luna thought, especially when she had provided their meals for the rest of their stay on sea with that single shark. Yes, it was a very big shark. And very well fed. She couldn't help but feel a little miffed when they started averting their gazes, not daring to even look at her.

They still met _Hisoka's_ eyes.

They _were_ very pretty eyes, golden and feral, and _catlike_.

She liked cats.

But that wasn't the point. Hisoka was more dangerous than Luna, and anybody with an ounce of sensibility would realize that. Hisoka even _looked_ more dangerous, with his slit eyes and unreadable smiles. Hisoka was the one who would go on a random killing spree. Anybody who had any sensitivity would see it in a heartbeat, considering that his killing intent would leak out once in a while.

Luna, on the other hand, thought she was pretty safe to be around. She kept her bloodlust in check and her nen appeared harmlessly 'untrained' to those who actually knew about nen, and she didn't randomly throw weapons at people. And unlike Hisoka, she knew she looked cute, innocent, and harmless.

She wasn't, of course, but only when someone either hired her to kill, or when someone was stupid enough to antagonize her. There were plenty of men who tried to prey on the helpless little girl, only to lose their ability to have children.

She left them alive. She found it better than killing them. Luna didn't like senseless killing. Assassins learned from a young age that you only killed your targets, the people in your way, and anybody that thought they could get away with trying to turn you into a target.

Of course, it didn't hurt that the fools were alive to suffer through the pain and learn a wonderfully sharp lesson.

They were also alive to develop a healthy fear of girls that looked innocent and helpless.

Still, Luna did not think she was a sadist. She killed cleanly and efficiently, putting her targets out of their miseries rather painlessly, if one could consider a knife across their throats painless. She just occasionally enjoyed causing the faces of those who underestimated or angered her to twist in agony, and then leave them alive like that, because pain was always worse than death. It didn't make her a bad person, right? She wasn't sadistic, right?

Therefore, when the hundred forty eight other people who passed the second stage of the exam stayed at least fifty feet away from her and Hisoka at all times, she found herself wondering if she should let Hisoka kill everyone like he wanted to.

Because he _really_ wanted to. She could see his chest rise and fall quickly, deeply, his eyes glazed over and his mouth stretched into a grin that showed too many teeth. His hands were quivering, and the corner of a card peeked in and out of sight.

His urge to kill had increased over the second exam. Especially after Luna kicked a man who tried to grope her into the ocean and fed him to the sharks.

… Or was that the reason everyone developed their sudden irrational fear of her?

"Good luck," Morel called to their backs as the group stood on solid ground and turned to face the next examiner. "You'll need it."

And along with the four hundred or so failed participants, the ship disappeared into the horizon. Luna turned her attention back to her surroundings, only half listening to the third examiner introduce herself.

Although the ocean was right behind them, a dense forest stretched out only half a mile in from the shore. Luna couldn't see much from the height she stood at, but she knew enough about forests to know that they would not be able to see much sunlight once they entered, and that it would be stunningly easy to get lost.

Most disturbingly, she felt foreign, strange nen radiating from the trees. It wasn't human. That much she could tell. The nen was raw, powerful, and only semi-trained, but it was probably enough for whatever predator used nen.

Morel was right. The hunter candidates _would_ need all the luck they could get.

Fortunately, Luna never relied on luck. Lady Luck was fickle, and often betrayed one when they needed her the most. As far as she could tell, for fighters of her level, the opponents in the forest would not be too difficult to deal with.

She didn't even need to mention Hisoka, considering that he was still much stronger than her.

"After you find the 'treasure', you stay in the forest. Nobody leaves until the week is over, understood?" The female hunter demanded, voice ringing.

A few murmurs of assent came from the group. Luna couldn't see over the backs, but she could tell from the nen that the woman was scowling.

"I said, _DO YOU UNDERSTAND!_ " The hunter screamed.

"YES MA'AM!" The group shouted back as a whole.

Luna glanced around. Most of them would probably quit and never take the exam again, with how easily they were terrified. She quickly took note of the calm ones, aside from Hisoka and herself. There were very few, and they obviously did not know nen, but they were probably worth watching in the next stages.

If they survived this stage, that was.

"Your time starts now. And remember. The moment you hear the alarm, you have one hour to make it to the exit point, or you fail," the hunter announced, then smirked evilly. "Killing _is_ allowed if you want to steal treasure from someone else. Now _GO!_ "

Before the others could even react, Hisoka and Luna took off. Luna knew they needed as much time as possible to find the 'treasure', and Hisoka… Well, Hisoka just wanted to kill something.

The moment they dove into the forest, Hisoka's hand emerged bloody from the other side of a bear's throat. Its growl died into a gurgle, and it stared at Hisoka in shock, wondering with its last breath how its prey had arrived so soon, and what a human hand was doing in its neck. And then it stopped thinking forever. Hisoka's hand retreated, and he shook the blood off. The bear collapsed lifelessly, corpse prepared to trip anyone who wouldn't notice a dead bear in their path.

Luna stared at the dead bear for a moment, then clapped her hands together and bowed. "Rest in peace."

Hisoka raised an eyebrow at her.

She only ignored him and glanced around. Trees, trees, and more trees. She was right. It would be too easy to get lost. And while they were still at the edges, they had sunlight and no dangerous predators. But she doubted that the Hunter Exam would make things easy by hiding the 'treasure' at the edges, so they would have to move deeper into the pitch black forest.

"Let's split up," Luna suggested, voice breaking the silence.

"We haven't started dating yet," Hisoka pouted.

She shot him a look, and his normal smile reappeared. He shrugged in a gesture of helplessness. It was true. He couldn't help teasing her, especially when there was a chance of getting a _good_ reaction.

"I'll find you tomorrow," Hisoka said. "That _is_ enough time, right?"

"Who do you think I am?"

Hisoka's eyes narrowed as he licked his lips. "Yes. Of course."

He walked off, and she watched until he disappeared into the darkness. He was probably the only splash of color she would see for a while in the maze of black and brown and green. And if he were any other man, she would scoff and label him an idiot for making himself such a clear target. But he was _Hisoka_. He was several hundred times more dangerous than anything she could find in the forest.

It almost made her feel sorry for the animals who would mistake him for easy prey.

She turned and started walking in another direction. But unlike Hisoka, she didn't deem it necessary to make it easy for the hunter following her. Luna simply melted into the shadows. It was habit, and she really didn't see the need to change good habits for the sake of the hunter, who obviously felt panic at having lost his charge.

He should just use his nen, Luna thought. If he was smart he would figure that out, since she didn't hide her nen. She didn't intend to let anybody know she could use nen. Nova had taught her to maintain the illusion that her nen was at amateur level at all times, and she became an expert at it. It became her default state.

And it was probably the only thing that kept her from becoming a priority target for Cephius. He never found out she knew nen, therefore he never felt any desperation, never knew it was _perilous_ to threaten her. She could have killed the weak nen user she once called her uncle anytime with just her nen and a lot of bloodlust, and he never realized it.

Suddenly a burst of familiar bloodlust washed over her, sending the hunter following her into a state of petrification, and she couldn't help but grin. Hisoka had started playing.

It was her turn to start working.


	14. Chapter 14

As she walked, Luna simply stared into the darkness, wondering where the hell she would find any of the tiny objects the examiner called 'treasure' in _this_ place. Her eyes flicked back in the direction where the hunter following her still stood, but the rest of her body showed no indication of her attention turning to a new focus. She _could_ ask nicely—meaning smile and hold up a knife—but she doubted that a low level hunter, a mere tracker, would know the details about the exam.

She could also use gyo.

Because if she learned anything about the Hunter Exam, it was that the examiners were sadists who gave tests that would be easy to pass if they used nen, when they knew for sure that most candidates for the exam had no idea that nen existed. She would gamble all the clothes she had on that each 'treasure' hidden in the forest had nen surrounding them, if only to make it easier for the hunters to retrieve the objects later.

Otherwise it would be considered littering, and there were many people who felt rather strongly about the matter. Luna would bet that if it leaked out to society that the Hunters' Association _littered_ , especially during the Hunter Exam, they would immediately have a mob of people, normal citizens and otherwise, protesting outside the headquarters.

Carefully, she activated gyo, making sure her nen looked like it wasn't being used. She scanned the forest with one glowing eye, ignoring the physical matter while searching for anything that was nen. Her follower, with his entire body glowing with a faint sheen of white aura, was irritatingly bright…

Suddenly, in the distance, something glittered. Dark blue eyes narrowed, focusing in on the aura. She couldn't see that far, of course, but from what she could tell, that nen was motionless, more of a beacon than the aura of anything living. Her lips curled upwards.

Found it.

But before she even took another step, another nen exploded next to the glitter, shining brightly in the darkness. She froze, brows furrowing. Luna didn't feel panic, nor fear. She knew more dangerous nen. After all, she had spent days with Hisoka. This nen didn't seem as bloodthirsty as his. It was more… furious. It followed instinct more than reasoning or desire. It was the nen she had felt earlier, before they entered the forest. Foreign, powerful, wild, _inhuman_.

She wanted to meet whatever creature produced such an enticing nen.

And then the screaming began.

Her eyes widened in surprise. She didn't even see the people approach the foreign nen, but then she shook her head. It wasn't that strange. A nen that glowed so brightly was bound to snuff out all the other lights that grew close, rendering them invisible in contrast.

Light spots danced through her gyo enhanced vision, and she quickly deactivated her gyo, spending a few seconds readjusting her sight to the darkness. If she had moved through the forest like that, she would have bumped into a tree or tripped over a corpse, and that would hurt.

Besides, she had a good sense of direction. She knew which way the nen originated from, even without the screams of agony guiding her.

She pulled her hood up, covering as much of her pale skin as she could, lest someone see the flash of white and attack. She doubted that the source of the powerful nen would actually _lose_ , especially when all she heard were roars and screams and thuds and squelches.

… Squelches?

Luna burst from the trees, silently coming to a stop as she emerged in a small clearing, if it could be called one. There were no trees sticking out of the ground in the nearly perfect circle spanning no more than fifty meters, but the leaves and branches blanketed the top, blocking the sky from view. Only weak, watery strands of sunlight made their way through the thick mantle, weary and nearly completely drained of energy after forcing their way through the weave of branches and leaves. But they were enough to provide a small amount of light, faintly illuminating the gory scene.

Blood was _everywhere_. Crimson splattered the trees, soaking slowly into the wet soil, slowly seeping into the roots of the forest. She could see a head here and a leg there; each hunter candidate had been torn to pieces. None still had their corpses fully attached, none still had their throats and torsos intact. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a woman sitting against a tree, eyes glazed over with death, a look of pain and horror frozen on her face forever. In her remaining hand, missing several fingers, she held a rope like object.

Luna didn't need to go any closer to know it was her intestines, pulled out of the gash in the woman's abdomen.

Then a faint wind blew, and the smell that had been sitting on the stagnant air hit her full force.

If it had just been the smell of blood and death, she would not have minded so much. She was used to such smells, knowing it almost too well. But she found the source of the squelching sounds. Innards lay scattered on the ground, and excrements soiled the pants of the dead. Intestines that stretched out from gaping wounds emitted the stench of human waste, popped bile ducts produced the acrid, sour smell of vomit, and half digested food spilled out of burst stomachs.

Amongst the candidates, more than one unfortunate hunter tracking the examinees lay dead, slaughtered after the candidates as the raging beast tore through every living thing in sight.

Said beast sprawled in the middle of the clearing, multiple lacerations oozing blood. The half shut crimson eyes were dull. It was no longer breathing, killed by the hunters it attacked.

No, not an 'it', Luna realized. A _she_. The wingless panther dragon hybrid had been protecting her kits, each kitten the size of a Saint Bernard.

Only one was left alive.

Luna glanced over into the structure of dead branches and dirt, obviously a den for the mother and her new litter. The single surviving kit trembled, mewling, its golden eyes barely open as it observed her, terrified.

The same color as Hisoka's eyes.

Fascinated, Luna leaned down, staring the kitten straight in the eyes. It was the only one in the litter with that shade; the rest had red eyes like their mother. It retreated, stumbling over something in its haste to get away from the girl. It proceeded to wrap its tail around itself and cower, trying to make its large body as small as possible, and trying to blend in with the shadows of the den.

In a normal situation it would have attacked instead of hiding, even if it had barely any experience in the world. But it had watched its powerful mother, the most powerful being in the world, it had thought, slaughtered like prey. And then its siblings as well. It felt like it had the right to hide after such a traumatic experience.

Luna glanced at the object, and nearly smiled. She refrained only because she didn't want to scare the kitten any further. Therefore she poked a knife in and slowly tapped at the 'treasure' inching it out until she could grasp it without the fearful kitten attacking her.

And then she turned to the cat.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thanks, avathetimelord and AmberSnippy for the follow/fav!

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Hisoka picked up Luna's exam number tag, raising an eyebrow. Well. It was certainly unexpected, to say the least. If Luna had fought anyone, he would have known. If she had, by some rare and unlucky one in a million chance, _lost_ , Hisoka would have known as well. He highly doubted that there was _anyone_ who could beat Luna in the exam and in the forest. The nen they had felt earlier had not been anywhere near her level, and even the examiner would lose to the girl in a fight.

He didn't even need to think about the outcome when it came to assassinations. The forest was full of Luna's home element, shadows. Nobody would see her, nobody would sense her coming. One second they would be alive, and the next second they would be dead. Possibly, the Zoldycks could deflect her attacks, considering that they were the only assassins equal to the Valdis family. Hisoka could not be sure, though, because he knew how well she blended into the shadows, impossible to detect even if you knew she was there. The only person Hisoka knew for sure could deter her assassination was himself, because he could always sense her if she was anywhere within a mile radius. No exceptions.

Therefore, he concluded, that she was very much alive, even though he could not sense her. But why in the _world_ would she have separated from her tag?

If she had dropped it on purpose, so she could go _frolic_ with someone else, Hisoka would rip her throat out. With a spoon. She was his his his his his his _his_. _He_ was the only one allowed to play with her, to kill her.

Feeling slightly more murderous, Hisoka stalked through the forest, reaching out tendrils of nen to find the girl.

It took _four days_.

Hisoka gripped Luna's exam number tag, and his smile twitched. Anybody with any sense and any knowledge about Hisoka would go running right about then, but without the screaming. If they screamed, he would find them, you see, and he might just enjoy a chase while hunting. And hiding was no good, because he had the senses of a wild beast, and one ready to stick his hand through anyone's chest, to boot.

Because Hisoka was _annoyed_.

And anybody with half a brain knew an annoyed Hisoka was a bad, _bad_ thing. One night and half a day remained of this stage of the exam, and Hisoka had _just_ pinpointed Luna's nen signature. The forest was too big, Hisoka thought. Too difficult to find a group of _prey_ to slaughter.

He had contemplated killing the hunter tracking him. More than several times, in fact. He wondered if the man knew how _lucky_ he was that Hisoka managed to keep his self control. Probably not, since Hisoka never felt sheer terror radiating through the hunter's nen, but it was just as well. If he had felt the fright and panic, Hisoka would have ripped the man apart to sate his bloodlust. It was just the predator's instinct.

Hisoka followed Luna's nen, eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a thin line, curled into a smirk.

When Hisoka finally tracked Luna down, he had expected her to be doing something even remotely assassin-like. Lurking in the shadows, in the midst of killing, in a field of dead, or even just scaring children. She fit two of the above. The area surrounding her stank, so much so that Hisoka was forced to immediately cover his nose. Damp heat did not do much good for dead bodies, and flies already swarmed the corpses of all the humans. The dead… cats seemed to be the only appropriate word, remained untouched. She was also lurking in the shadows.

But not in the way he expected.

The first thing he saw was Luna's rump sticking up, wriggling in the air, and her upper body lay invisible, hidden in the shadows of what could only be called a den. Hisoka raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" Hisoka asked, half amused and half annoyed.

"Hisoka!" She shot up and turned, a guilty look on her face.

Hisoka's lips twitched, annoyance fading into more amusement. "Did you get the target?"

She nodded.

"Then…?"

She shuffled her weight, fiddling her fingers, looking everywhere but at him. He didn't really understand why. He was much better looking—and more colourful—than the, oh, corpses and blood and yellowish green bile sitting around. But the expression on her face was quite… _interesting_. He had never seen _guilt_ and embarrassment on her features before.

"I want him," she finally muttered, eyes sliding to the side.

"Hmm?"

"I want the kitten," she mumbled, voice even softer.

Hisoka sighed, eyes scanning her. Red welts sat on her pale arms, scratches obviously made by said 'kitten'. It was probably hidden in the den, Hisoka observed, since he couldn't see any living things with a brain bigger than a pinprick. A chunk of meat and a small bowl of water lay untouched beside the girl, who was trying to coax the cat out. Hisoka never knew she could make a bowl out of leaves.

Hisoka sighed, a mild smile on his face. "You should bury them. The smell will attract predators."

Luna stared blankly at him. The smell was already attracting predators. The dead animals all around them _were_ the predators who wanted to eat the dead. She had simply slaughtered anything that came near. The kitten ate a lot of meat.

"Leave them. The dead get eaten. It's the law of the forest," Luna stated, before turning her attention away from him again.

Irritation rose. She did _not_ ignore Hisoka. Smile disappearing, his lips merely pressed into a thin line. He moved to peer into the darkness. Golden eyes stared back. Quicker than the animal could react, his hand snatched out and grasped the scruff of its neck, yanking it out of the comforting darkness and dangling it in the air.

Luna made a noise of protest. It yowled and tried to claw and bite at the man, but he shook it a few times, the heavy body swinging helplessly in the air, and it stopped. It merely whimpered, sending pleading looks at the unsympathetic man. The animal had taken Luna's attention from him. Hisoka wasn't pleased.

"Male…" Luna muttered, observing the underside of the cat from her position. under Hisoka's arm. "Orion."

"The hunter," Hisoka murmured, looking approvingly at the cat. "And you followed Valdis family tradition for a cat?"

"Orion Valdis," Luna said stubbornly.

Hisoka pursed his lips. The Valdis family obviously liked naming their children after celestial bodies. Luna, Nova, Cephius... He had thought she didn't care about family after he slaughtered them with her help. She even gave her uncle to _Feitan_. But here she stood, adding a nonhuman member.

Well, he supposed it was better than her marrying someone and producing Valdis babies to rebuild the family. Mothers didn't exactly make the best fighters, unless they were protecting their young. And Hisoka wasn't exactly willing to kill Luna's future babies just to fight her, because they had her blood, and would grow strong so he could have some _fun_ with them before killing them.

Still dangling the nearly silent cat, he walked off, stepping daintily over the corpses and unsavoury dried liquids. Luna followed him without a word. When they were finally far enough away from the gore, Hisoka started hunting for a fresh body of water. Luna stank, to put it simply, and Hisoka was sure that after standing in the not so clear clearing for over ten minutes, he didn't exactly smell like roses either.

They needed a bath. Badly. And that included the oversized housecat.


	16. Chapter 16

The psychopathic jester and silent assassin sat down, dripping wet, wearing only their underwear as they dried themselves and their clothes by the fire. Hisoka had argued that they would dry more quickly if they weren't wearing the soaking wet underwear—and yes, he did deliberately use sexual terms, but was disappointed when the girl didn't react—but she was stubborn about it. She was _not_ walking around naked, especially not around him, and she did _not_ need to see… body parts dangling and swinging every time they moved.

Night had fallen, and they only knew that because the watery sunlight that peered through the leaves in certain spots had faded, and the smell of night grew stronger.

Oh, and the owls were out too.

The smell of cooking meat wafted through the air as the chunks of meat sizzled on sticks next to the fire, making their mouths water. Luna had hunted for the three of them while Hisoka bathed himself and the cat, saying she refused to bathe with the man. She had returned with a rather large deer-like creature, already skinned and gutted and headless, and she was newly soaked with blood. Hisoka welcomed the food. Neither of them had eaten since the third exam began. Hisoka because he was unable to find any animal—they all ran away whenever he got within five miles of them—and she was too busy trying to take care of the cat. If you could even call it one.

It looked like a panther. Its head and body were shaped like a large panther, with midnight black fur, and golden eyes. The differences were the overly long claws, the teeth like the sabretooth tiger, and the long dragon tail, finished off with a spike at the tip. The creature was built to be a weapon, a hunter. He had no doubt that even though its defenses were much weaker than its weapons, the nen it would develop will more than make up for it.

And speaking of the creature, it sat on the opposite side of the fire, watching them warily as it chewed slowly on its large hunk of meat.

Hisoka was a little surprised it didn't run away, especially after he had so rudely dunked it into water and scrubbed it, without sustaining a single scratch. But as a result, it actually smelled somewhat decent now, and was completely clean. He supposed that all the care Luna put into the creature for the past few days paid off. He just wondered if it would follow them when the third stage of the exam ended.

The two killers ate slowly as well, biting into the hot meat, the juices running down their chins. They didn't mind, though. They were hungry, and could wash themselves off with water later. Hisoka nearly laughed when he sensed the hunters tracking them. They were probably salivating as they ate their dried army rations.

But Hisoka and Luna ignored them as they finished their food, tossed the bones into the fire, and prepared to sleep. Still half naked, of course. Luna slipped into her shoes and disappeared into the forest. Hisoka stared, almost squinting as he tried to locate the girl. He knew she was right outside the ring of light that the fire produced, but he couldn't see her at all. Strange, how someone as pale as a ghost could remain so invisible.

She returned moments later, having completed a full circle around their makeshift camp, and lay down on her newly washed and dried cloak. It didn't take long before she was asleep, her state of rest only given away by her light and even breathing. Hisoka watched her for a moment, fingers tracing the air, cutting down her throat, through her abdomen, through soft flesh. Ah, he couldn't wait for her to grow stronger, for her to fight him.

But he shook his head, turning his thoughts away. He couldn't think about that. She would be very annoyed if he woke her up with his bloodlust. So instead, he lay down next to her, grinning at her possible reaction when she woke. And before he fell asleep himself, he saw the cat pad over softly, cautiously. Hisoka stilled, watching. When neither human reacted, the cat heaved a sigh and curled up at the girl's stomach, sandwiching her between its fur and Hisoka's chest.

The fire had just died out into a wisp of smoke and darkness when the three awoke, almost simultaneously. The cat's ears pricked, Hisoka's hand reached for his cards, and Luna stiffened. One hand landed on the cat and the other on Hisoka, keeping them still as she rose silently and invisibly to her feet.

Two pairs of golden eyes watched her curiously.

She started tapping the ground, quite loudly, in a series of long and short taps. Almost immediately the two hunters tracking them spiked their nen as well as the other, unknown trackers, and the two candidates felt the group of hunters retreat. The candidates, however, kept approaching their deaths.

Luna released her nen.

Thuds and sucking sounds reached the trio's ears, followed by screams of pain. Knives flew through the air, invisible in the darkness, piercing the group of candidates who had the gall to sneak up on the two nen users. Hisoka grinned, bloodlust skyrocketing. Luna had set up the traps earlier.

The girl nodded to him, and with a hand pressing down hard on the cat, warning it not to move, the clown slipped into the forest. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Luna vanish as well, and sighed. He could remain quiet and unseen, but he never reached her level. Hell, not even the Zoldycks reached her level. It was something natural in the girl, he supposed, and the Zoldycks were more prone to attacking outright and killing everyone easily than to sneak attacks.

But he didn't really have the focus to think about her right then. Not when moaning and groaning insects were lying around, ready for him to kill.

It was quite boring, Hisoka thought, bloodlust fading into sheer boredom as he stuck a hand through this one, a card through that one. And he needed another bath. How troublesome. He really hoped the next stage of the exam had a fight. And he hoped he would be allowed to kill the opponent.

Otherwise he would simply go on a massacre and kill everyone except Luna. Her, he would savour later.

Half lidded eyes watched as one of the least injured hunter candidates screamed, scrambling to his feet and tripping over himself as he began to escape. Hisoka cocked his head, placing a hand on his hip as he leaned his weight onto that side. A half smile formed on his lips as he watched. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Luna appear, deliberately placing herself into his line of vision. She cocked her head. His grin grew, and with a few steps, he was running next to the terrified man.

The man was cut off halfway through a scream, and he glanced up at the clown. Strange, that the scary clown was moving upwards and growing bigger so quickly. Hmm. He didn't look so scary from this angle…

The candidate's head slipped to the ground and bounced several times, no longer attached to the body.

He glanced over at Luna and pouted. She didn't have a single drop of blood on her, even though he was practically soaked. There went his plans of having her take a bath with him.

She wordlessly pointed in the direction of the lake, and walked back to where they had left Orion. When he returned, once again soaking wet and somewhat cold, she was snuggling with the cat. He raised an eyebrow, and lay behind her, pressing against her skin. He felt her stiffen, but he merely lay an arm around her waist, pulling her closer, using her as a heater. It should be the opposite, he knew. Males were naturally warmer than females, and he was getting her back wet. She would be pissed off…

She sighed, and simply went to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Thanks to ailill93, Emily the evil one, Sayonara One Piece, DoubtReality, Luna loves u, and XxLittleMissSweetnessxX for following/faving!

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On the final day of the exam they awoke to a loud siren, signalling that they had one hour left to find the treasure and return to the meeting point. Luna sat up, stretching a little. It was still dark, of course, like it always was. For nocturnal creatures like Luna, it was pretty nice. Too bad, really, that they had to leave the comforting darkness to enter the light again. It was pretty hard to hide in the light, and quite difficult to assassinate someone. Unless there was either nobody around or a lot of people around, of course. Then there would either be no witnesses or a whole bunch of people to blend into after doing the deed.

Luna sighed lightly and stood, reaching over for her clothes, quickly slipping the outfit on before yanking the cloak from under the man and cat and throwing it on. Immediately she was much more difficult to spot. Hisoka couldn't understand it, really. He didn't like being invisible. He was flamboyant and almost gaudy in his choice of colors and actions, all for the purpose of gaining attention. A trickster and a performer, through and through.

After all, he would rather fight someone than silently kill them before they even realized he was there.

Luna glanced sideways at him. "Put some clothes on."

Hisoka pouted, peering up at her with one open eye. He had heard that line too many times from her mouth. He knew he was good looking. Many females, and some males too, would slaver at the view of Hisoka shirtless. And yet here Luna was, not at all appreciating the view. What a waste of his muscles and finely sculpted body. Hisoka didn't consider himself vain, or narcissistic. Narcissists didn't care about other people, after all, and he could appreciate a fine piece of living weapon. He was just confident in his looks. And everything else, of course.

Orion stretched lazily, but remained on his belly, golden eyes staring up at his mistress. She raised an eyebrow at the cat. Golden eyes and blue eyes stared at each other for a long moment, and Hisoka found himself watching them, amused. They suited each other. Or they would, when Orion grew up to be a weapon rather than a harmless kitten.

"Go hunt if you're hungry. Just don't get eaten," Luna said by way of dismissal.

The cat's ears flattened against its head, the cat flipping over in a gesture of absolute submission.

"I'm not leaving you behind," the girl said, almost with a hint of impatience in her voice. "Go hunt and then find me."

The cat perked up at that, and with a small roar, bounded off into the forest, quickly blending in to the darkness. Hisoka sat up, cocking his head at her. He was met with a face full of cloth. Silently he put on his clothes as she scattered the signs of humans ever having been in the area. Then they took off towards the meeting point, the sound of the siren acting as a beacon in the darkness. The two stepped over the dead bodies as if they were mere pieces of wood. Scavengers will eat those eventually, of course, so it couldn't be considered littering.

When they reached the forest edge, the two blinked, squinting at the sudden brightness. After not having seen much sunlight for nearly a week, the furious rays of sunshine were almost too much to bare, but all it took was sitting in the shadows for a few minutes to adjust.

"So you two are the first," the examiner hummed, sitting on a rock, a bored expression on her face. "How was it?"

"Boring," Hisoka drawled, watching the woman's face for a reaction.

Her lip twitched, but that was about it. She probably expected a better answer than that, since it would be a pretty difficult exam for amateurs. She herself would consider it boring as well, though, so she couldn't really say anything. After all, Hisoka's nen was very well polished. Sharp, even.

And in contrast, the girl with him was… _weak_. Overwhelmingly so. Not only was the pale brat unable to use nen, but she seemed physically scrawny. Too pale, like she had never seen the sun, and too thin, like she didn't eat, or didn't have any muscle It made the woman wonder how in the world these two ended up as partners, when the man would not benefit at all from joining with the girl.

Unless they knew each other from before?

"Cute," Luna answered.

This time the examiner's brows shot up. Cute. Now _that_ was an unexpected answer if she ever heard one. She glanced over at the forest. She didn't see anything 'cute' about it. Only the man beside her could be considered 'cute', but 'handsome' fit the bill better.

Hisoka laughed. Luna was talking about the cat, of course. Nothing else in the forest drew Luna's attention, and it seemed that the moment the cat caught her attention, she didn't see anything else.

"Where's your number tag?" The examiner's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Luna blinked, surprised, as her hand went to where the tag was supposed to be. It wasn't there. She wondered how she could have failed to notice. Luna glanced at Hisoka. And just as she expected, the man lit up with realization before he put his hands into his pocket and revealed the tag with a flourish, handing it to the girl.

"Thanks," she murmured, pinning it back on her chest.

"You owe me another favour," Hisoka purred, eyes half shut, a sly grin on his lips.

"Hm," she waved a hand in acknowledgement.

They remained silent for the rest of the hour, Luna waiting for Orion to return, and Hisoka waiting for the rest of the candidates to return so the next exam could begin. Finally the examiner slammed her hand down on a button, and blessed silence fell. Her eyes ran over the group of seven.

"Only this many left?" The hunter in charge raised her eyebrows.

Even if she hadn't expected many to pass, she didn't expect such a high mortality rate either. The forest wasn't _that_ difficult to get through. Her gaze shot to the pair Morel and the hunter trackers had warned her about. It had to be them. Or rather, it had to be the man. Candidate 44 still seemed weak to her, no matter what Morel had said.

Feeling the examiner's gaze, Luna raised an eyebrow, and looked up at Hisoka. He smiled innocently.

Did he mention that while he searched for Luna, he killed anyone and everyone he came across?

It must have been more people than he originally thought.

"Anyways, we'll pick up the stragglers later. Congratulations for passing the third stage. For the next stage you will be—"

"Wait," Luna said, interrupting the woman.

She shot the girl an irritated look, opening her mouth to reprimand the quiet child, but Luna's attention was already on the forest. She lifted her fingers to her lips and let out a series of whistles, in a sequence of low-high-middle. When the last note lingered in the air, fading away slowly, a tense silence fell over the group.

"Even if somebody comes now, it's too late. They've failed," the examiner said irritably.

Luna only shook her head. The examiner gritted her teeth.

And then a mighty roar sounded as a blur of black and red crashed out of the forest, sliding to a halt. A low growl rumbled in its throat, the bloody carcass of a fawn dangling from its mouth. The group stiffened; the examiner reached for her weapon.

The cat sat on its haunches, ears pricked, tail lashing.

"Everyone get back," the examiner said, voice hard and tight. "That's a panteron. They are one of the top ten most dangerous predators in the world. I don't know what it's doing in the sunlight, but even a baby like that is dangerous."

As if Luna had not listened at all, she walked towards the creature even as everyone else—except Hisoka and the hunter—inched back. Hisoka hummed. So that was a panteron. A pity that the mother died, and that Luna claimed the kitten. He had heard of the species, and eventually wanted to fight one of them. They were known to be living weapons, perfect hunters, and nen users. Those had been proven in the forest, of course, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that _that_ harmless little kitten was a member of the number three most dangerous species in the world.

"Oi! Listen when I'm—" the examiner began, then her jaw fell slack.

Luna stood next to the cat, rubbing its ears. He purred, leaning his head towards her even as his powerful jaws crushed the carcass, bones and all. Blood ran down Orion's chin, dripping to the ground. The others looked around hesitantly. Again they were reminded that the fragile looking girl was insane, dangerous.

"Late. Next time make it in one minute," Luna scolded, before turning to the shocked examiner. "Okay. Now we can go."


	18. Chapter 18

Luna shifted uneasily, glancing up at Hisoka from time to time. His bloodlust was unsettling, even if it wasn't directed at her. It seemed that the tension that had been building up within him through the first three stages of the exam was overflowing now. And what's worse, the bloodlust wasn't his normal 'I want to kill everyone because it would be fun' bloodlust. It was the 'I hate your guts because you annoy the hell out of me so I want to kill you, and don't care who gets caught in the crossfire' bloodlust.

The other examiners watched him, even the old man on the screen. Every hunter in the room was paying attention to Hisoka, wary of his bloodlust, each feeling like screaming. He was _dangerous_. And even though two of the examiners had seen _Luna_ do something insane and unthinkably dangerous with their own eyes, and get through it without a scratch, there was no doubt remaining that _Hisoka_ was the deadly one. Tension filled the room as everyone readied themselves for the fight of their lives, each hoping that Hisoka would not give in to his urge to massacre everyone.

And it was almost stupid, that the only ones who paid him no attention were the other candidates and Togari, the examiner for the final stage. Luna could bet everything she owned that he didn't even notice the bloodlust, mostly directed at him. If he thought they were all weak amateurs who had never killed before, who didn't know nen, she wouldn't be surprised.

Luna could not blame anyone for Hisoka's current state of mind. It was the entire exam for being so boring, so _easy_. It was the lack of interesting candidates to watch and perhaps fight, save for herself. And the examiner for the final stage was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

Or rather, Togari was the bundle of rocks that broke the camel's back.

He was irritating as a feather tickling the foot of a paralyzed person. Loud, arrogant, and _weak_. If he hadn't been weak, Luna thought, Hisoka would not be this furious. Hisoka was arrogant and showy, and he knew it. That's why he did not have the right to condemn anyone else for having the same traits.

Except Hisoka, at least, had the strength to back up his attitude.

Togari did not.

"Tch. You're all nothing but weaklings! Are you underestimating what it takes to be a hunter?" Togari sneered.

The man glanced over the group of seven, and found nothing noteworthy. He was surprised that so many had lasted. His eyes flicked over to the group of other examiners. Their exams must have been too easy. Tch. It wasn't like the good old days anymore, when the Hunter Exam was actually _difficult_ and _life threatening_. He could remember that he had barely passed the exam after the seventh try, and it felt like each exam was harder than the last. Except he had gotten stronger with each exam, which was why he finally obtained his license.

This green bunch had no idea what it meant to be strong, what it meant to fight for their lives. And they had no idea what it meant to be a hunter. He could even see the two newbies here, and one looked like a stupid clown while the other looked like a fragile doll that would break the moment he touched her.

How stupid.

"Tch," Togari spat.

Hisoka's fingers twitched, and out of the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of white sliding down into his hand. An irritated smile sat on Hisoka's face, his eyes hard. He almost never had that look in his eyes. It meant he was _pissed_.

Luna grabbed his wrist, conveying a silent warning to the man with her eyes. Hisoka glanced down at her, an eyebrow rising ever so slightly. The girl rarely initiated contact with anyone. Luna didn't like physical contact. Yet throughout the exam, she had been quite… touchy. Hisoka didn't dislike that.

She shook her head, the motion barely visible. He sighed, closing his eyes, and shrugged helplessly. The card vanished. She rewarded him with a small smile.

"Fail! Next! You, girl! Yeah, the weak looking doll over there!" Togari barked.

Hisoka stiffened once again, and Luna fought the urge to glare at the examiner. Hisoka had _just_ relaxed, ever so slightly, and now the idiot got him riled up again. Her grip on Hisoka's wrist tightened ever so slightly, before she released him and walked towards the examiner.

She studied the man. He was well built, as a result of training, of course. But all he looked like was some wild hooligan. His nen wasn't at all polished, and his physical capabilities were far weaker than some fighters she had seen at the Heaven's Arena.

Luna stepped into the center of the room, and noted that none of the off white floor tiles were even scratched from the fights between Togari and the previous examinees. The lights in the room shone brightly, illuminating everything. Luna sighed. No shadows to hide in. A pity, but it didn't make a difference against someone that weak. Besides, this was a fight and not an assassination.

Off to the side, the hunters from the previous exams stood watching carefully, and the trackers guarded the doors. Luna caught sight of the two that had been following her and Hisoka, and offered them a small nod. Thanking them with that gesture was the least she could do after they put up with the two. It wasn't easy, really, being around Hisoka's killing intent. At least not for normal people.

"Oi, how long are you going to delay, huh?" Togari snapped. "I don't know what the others were thinking, letting someone like you get through. I'll bet that big strong clown over there helped you the whole time, right? You're really underestimating what it means to be a hunter, if you think someone will always be around to help you."

Luna remained silent, drawing her nen closer, careful not to let even the smallest hint of bloodlust out. If she did, Hisoka would attack for sure. She could already see him tensing, his cards dancing in and out of his fingers. His golden eyes blazed. It was probably only Orion's presence at his feet, warning him, that he didn't attack. Yet.

She quickly judged the situation. She should not attack. If she only dodged Togari's attacks, Hisoka could probably keep a handle on himself. Probably. Carefully maintaining a normal, amateurish state of nen, without a single drop of killing intent, she turned her eyes to Togari.

"Alright. Let's start, kid," Togari said gruffly.

Luna nodded, falling into a slight crouch. Togari charged. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to finish this quickly. She dodged every blow by just enough, almost sighing at how _slow_ he was. For a moment she contemplated knocking him out, just so Hisoka would not have his turn. Hisoka would murder him in the blink of an eye, for sure, and she wasn't quite sure the other hunters in the room would take kindly to that.

Finally, huffing, sweating and out of breath, Togari stopped, glaring at her. "Oi, what the hell? Stop dodging and attack! Do you think you can become a hunter like this?"

Luna cocked her head, and shook her head once. No. She would not attack. Blue eyes simply watched him, watched his movements. Togari growled, eyes flashing. He didn't like it. Not only had he been unable to hit the girl even once, even though she was dodging desperately, but she also refused to take the initiative and attack.

"Maybe I should just kill you and make you an example for everyone, huh?" Togari smirked.

Luna stiffened, her irritation and dread skyrocketing.

And Hisoka snapped.


	19. Chapter 19

When Hisoka moved, while everybody except Togari expected it, nobody except Luna actually _saw_ it. Whether she had failed to react or she was too far from him, or even if she had _wanted_ Hisoka's attack to land, nobody knew, but when Togari screamed, she hadn't moved.

The cards sharpened with nen tore through Togari's clothes, through his skin as if it was softened butter. And the cards weren't merely sharpened. Luna could see that just by looking at Togari's wounds. His skin had practically been _ripped_ open, rather than the usual neat, clean cuts Hisoka produced.

Hisoka's eyes grew wide with murderous delight as he sauntered closer, savouring the fear on the man's face. Luna watched him warily, but she didn't move to stop him. Not yet, at least.

"If he kills Togari, we hunt him," the woman from the third exam murmured.

The other examiners nodded, acknowledging the indirect command. Luna's eyes widened a fraction, and she stiffened. Hunt? Hisoka? Her heart clenched at the idea. If they were going to _hunt_ Hisoka, it meant that even if he slaughtered everyone in the room, there would still be a never ending stream of hunters after his life. And they would not stop until he was dead.

Luna gritted her teeth and _moved_.

Within a second she stood in front of Togari, guarding him. No, not protecting him, but rather protecting Hisoka from doing something stupid. The examiners stared at her in wide eyed astonishment, wondering if the girl had lost her sanity. Even they would not dare to attack someone who had that much bloodlust radiating from them. They could barely stand, as it was, and it already took everything they had not to run away. They had _never_ felt this much bloodlust in their lives. After today, they hoped they never will again. And the old man on screen chuckled, stroking his chin.

"Hisoka. _Stop_ ," Luna ordered.

He barely glanced at her as he walked forward, aiming for the man past her. "Move."

"No," she said.

Her eyes widened, and she barely had time to react as his fist lashed out. She winced as the blow landed on her forearms and her shoed feet slid over the floor. Now _this_ was what she was used to in an actual fight. Speed and strength at nearly Hisoka's level.

But nearly wasn't it. She had never fought someone of Hisoka's calibre, and she knew she wasn't ready for it. But in this case she didn't have a choice. She had to grit her teeth and endure it.

And hope he came to his senses before he killed her.

Feeling the unexpected resistance, Hisoka paused, turned, an almost pensive smile on his face. It turned into a grin. Finally. A new opponent. A _strong_ opponent. He let his bloodlust burst out of him, flooding the room. He brushed off the screams of the other candidates dying under his bloodlust, brushed off the gasps as the trackers crawled out of the room in an attempt to avoid certain death. He focused on the one strong person in the room, and _smiled_.

Hisoka moved quickly, his blood singing with joy at finding someone so strong, someone who could almost match him. Who _could_ match him.

His cards flashed, only to meet air as the fighter dodged, and struck. Hisoka felt a mild pain in his abdomen as a weak attack got past his defenses, and swung, hitting air again.

He paused, cocking his head as he considered his opponent. His eyes lit up.

 _Funfunfunfunfunmustkillmustkillgoodfighterfunfunkill_ _ **kill**_ …

Hisoka closed in with a few quick steps and threw out a fist. And as she dodged he slammed his leg into where she was going to be. He heard a gasp, _ohsogood_ , and a crack as bone gave way before the pressure.

It was a fast paced dance, the pair moving seamlessly from attack to attack, almost as if they choreographed the fight. Only the deadly aura and the concentration, verging on desperation, told the audience that nothing was fake. Each strike aimed to kill. Each strike was hard, lethal, and one misstep and the other would be dead.

Other than the watching, amused Netero, nobody there could interfere in the fight. They could only stand by helplessly, watching the fight more than a few levels above their capabilities, and hope the girl won.

And of course, Togari didn't seem to notice _anything_ , to the point where it was surprising he had ever passed the Hunter Exam. He struggled to his knees, bleeding profusely and half blind from the attack to his face, a grimace marring his features.

"Fuck… Damn you, Hisoka!" Togari screamed as he charged blindly into battle, ignoring the pain and the blood.

The other hunters cursed his idiocy, wondering if it was worth dying for such a man when he got killed by Hisoka. Luna blinked, distracted for half a second by the man yelling and charging from behind.

But half a second was enough for Hisoka. It was enough for _any_ good fighter. His fist flew, and a moment later Luna crashed into the wall. She felt her breath burst out of her lungs from the impact, felt pain as the fortified cement splintered and shattered beneath her.

She coughed, unable to catch her breath.

Luna could only watch through bleary eyes as Hisoka once again turned on Togari, breaking bones with every blow. He was too close to killing the man, damn it. _Damn_ it!

She dropped from the crater her body had formed in the wall. Her muscles felt like jello, but she had to get to Hisoka. She _had_ to, before he killed Togari and ended up with the entire hunter world after his life.

"HISOKA!" Luna screamed, raising her voice for the second time in her life.

Hisoka faltered, turned. And with a flick of his wrist, he buried cards in her arms and legs, before turning his attention back to Togari. He could enjoy the girl later. Right now he had the man who annoyed him right there, on his hands and knees, and he would kill the man first.

Luna gasped lightly as she tried to move. Even if she ignored the wounds inflicted by the cards, she had several broken ribs that grated against each other with every movement, and an arm hung loosely, the shoulder dislocated. She gritted her teeth and _yanked_ , and the arm returned to its socket. Luna sat there blinking for a few moments, waiting for the black spots to fade out of her vision.

She felt a cold nose press against her cheek, heard a faint whine, but she couldn't move, couldn't react. It _hurt. Hurthurtsomuch_. Tears sprung unbidden to her eyes, but remained unshed. She wasn't so weak she would cry from a little physical pain.

But Orion did _not_ like seeing his mistress in pain. Because she was in pain, and he could smell the blood. Her blood. All of a sudden he no longer cared that Hisoka was strong, much stronger than him, and that he stood no chance against the man. Orion growled. He spun on his paws, glaring at Hisoka, the trickster still paying attention to Togari.

And Orion _roared_.


	20. Chapter 20

"Orion!" Luna gasped.

But nobody paid her any attention. Not the cat, not Hisoka, and not the hunters. Orion attacked Hisoka, enraged that the man had hurt his mistress. Claws and fangs flashed. But Hisoka only spared the cat a single glance before kicking him away.

Luna's eyes widened. The cat flew through the air, and Luna braced herself against the floor, kicking out to maximum speed, and reached the cat before he hit the wall and his bones broke. She gasped, a cry of pain tearing out of her throat as Orion's body slammed into her, crushing her between his body and the wall. Her broken ribs _shifted_ and she felt one scraping against her lung. The two bodies fell, the girl whimpering lightly, her head swimming. But she still had enough mental capacity to run her hands over Orion's body, making sure that the worst of his injuries were bruises.

She sighed with relief to find no broken bones, but the cat was unconscious from the pain, something he had never experienced in the few days since he was born. Luna let herself sit back for a moment, relief coursing through her veins, adrenaline taking the edge off the pain.

And then she stood, eyes blazing with anger.

Hisoka paused in his assault when he felt a powerful nen spike out of control, wild and angry. He had felt that nen once, and he had felt it spiral out of control once. It was somebody he knew he wanted to fight, somebody he wanted to kill but didn't want to kill. It was just that at that moment, he could not, for the life of him, recall who that nen belonged to.

He grinned, and had just barely turned to face the owner of that _wonderful addicting_ _nen_ when she disappeared and reappeared, knife slamming into his bicep before yanking back out in a spurt of crimson.

Hisoka, in true Hisoka fashion, did not even notice the wound.

Their nen, full of bloodlust, clashed, fighting for dominance even as the owners of the nen battled.

Neither noticed more than one examiner groan, unable to stand the violent, overwhelming nen. And neither noticed Netero's eyes light up with amusement and interest, utterly delighted in the unconventional turn in the exam. For a moment, the old man wished he was _there_ so he could join in the fight. It would have been _fun_.

Hisoka lunged. His card stabbed forward, aiming to cut her abdomen open. Luna practically fell to the side as she dodged, but her bones grated, and she winced. Her side tore open, Hisoka's sharpened nails buried in her flesh as the card shot past her. She bit back a groan.

But the pain brought her back to her senses. She took a deep breath, eyes never once leaving the man looming over her, so close that she could feel his body heat radiating off him. And slowly, ever so slowly, she forced her nen down, forced her bloodlust to vanish.

Clenching her teeth, she glared up at Hisoka and grabbed his forearm, squeezing until her grip was a hairs breadth away from crushing bone. "Hisoka. _Enough_."

He blinked, deranged smile fading ever so slightly, and blinked once again. His claws dug deeper into her side.

" _Hisoka_ ," Luna said, forcing her voice to sound calm and soothing. "Calm down. You don't want to kill me like this, right? Wait a few years, and then when I am ripe, you will kill me, right?"

With that, Hisoka blinked once more, and returned to his right mind. Not that he ever _had_ a right mind, of course, since he had been a little off from the day she met him. But he was normal Hisoka again, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet, she could not control her glare, nor the pitch black color of her eyes.

Hisoka looked down at her, pulling his hand out of her, genuinely surprised as he cocked his head in confusion. "Chibi? You're mad at me. Why are you mad at me?"

"Hmph," Morel shook his head, being the only examiner strong enough to withstand the intensity of their nen, and muttered, "You broke her ribs, shredded her limbs, and stuck a hand through her. Of course she'd be mad."

However, the two ignored him, and Luna continued to glare at Hisoka for a tense moment. He only frowned, pursing his lips. He really had no idea, and Luna wouldn't get angry over such little things… Would she?

"You _kicked_ my _cat_!" Luna snarled.

Morel's jaw fell open. Netero choked with laughter. Hisoka raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the prone figure, lying motionless on the floor.

"You _kicked_ my _cat_ ," Luna repeated. "Apologize to Orion, _now_."

Hisoka looked sheepishly at Orion, shifting his expression into an apologetic one. "I see. I'm sorry, Orion."

With that, she completely calmed down with a sigh and let him go.

"Oi, what about me, bastard?" Togari growled from the floor, still bleeding.

Luna blinked. He was still alive? Better yet, he was still _conscious_? Well, everybody knew what they said, whoever 'they' was. Cockroaches could survive even the apocalypse.

"What about you? And who are you anyways?" Luna asked, looking at him as disinterestedly as she would a cockroach. "Are you really a hunter? You're weak."

As the examiners gaped at her, wondering why she would fight Hisoka until she was torn up that badly if she didn't even care about who Togari was, she stalked over to Orion.

"Oi. Stand up. I don't need a weakling who would fall from a single kick and a few bruises. _Stand_."

Orion looked at her, noticing his mistress glaring down at him, and slowly rose to his feet, panting at the effort. As a kitten, he had never known pain before, and he figured out quickly that he didn't like it. But he didn't want to disappoint her. Not her. Never her.

She smiled a little. "Good boy."

And suddenly the cat felt like all his efforts were worth it. The panteron mewled, a sound befitting a housecat more than an apex predator. She rubbed his ears, satisfied with his performance. For his first fight, he hadn't done badly. He just chose the wrong opponent. She was sure that in a few years, with a little training, her panteron would be the strongest of his kind.

"Interesting! You two are interesting!" The old man on screen shouted, still laughing, tears of mirth streaming down his face. "It's really unfortunate that I have to disqualify you, Hisoka. But please do return next year. And as for you, candidate 44… Erm…" The old man glanced down, most likely at his files. "Luna, was it? You pass. Congratulations. Ah, I'm so glad I took the time to watch. So much fun, so much fun."

"Thanks?" Luna cocked her head at the old man. Who _was_ he?

The screen shut off, the old man's face disappearing with the picture. Luna surveyed the room, expression blank. The room that had been almost pristine before her fight was badly damaged. Floor tiles and walls were shattered, and blood had sprayed everywhere. Even the ceiling. It would take work and money to fix it.

"Chibi, you're bleeding," Hisoka pointed out.

Luna blinked, eyes blank, and she looked down at herself. "Oh. I am, aren't I."

"Yes, and you should see one of our healers," Morel said, stepping forth.

Hisoka tensed, almost glaring at the man.

Morel eyed him warily and stopped in his tracks, not daring to go anywhere nearer the girl lest the jester attacked. "I'll present you with your hunter license as well. And seeing that you already know nen, you are a full-fledged hunter now."

Luna hummed in acknowledgement.

And proceeded to cough up blood.

Hisoka almost lunged for her when she did, prepared to catch her, but when her coughing fit ended, she simply straightened, turned her gaze to a shocked Morel, and said very calmly, "I think my ribs pierced a lung. It's flooded with blood, and it's kind of hard to breathe. I'm sure it will heal over time, but it is quite uncomfortable. You said something about a healer?"


	21. Chapter 21

BloodySliver: Thank you, for favorite-ing, following, and the nice comments. Happy to please!

Sayonara One Piece: Thank you. Maybe I'm spoiling my readers with the fast updates? :) And I think any relationship Hisoka has would be strange. He's not the romantic type, unless romance consists of tearing someone apart with his bare hands, so he probably has no idea what he feels about Luna. He knows that he either likes her enough to kill her later, or simply wants to kill her...

* * *

"Alright. You're free to go," the hunter healer said, no longer surprised.

She had met quite a few hunters with strangely fast healing rates, even if they were powerful veterans with years of experience behind their belts and at least two stars. But this was the first time she had met a civilian with such a skill. She had fully expected the girl to be there for at least a month, with constant treatment to make sure nothing went wrong with the healing, and nothing got infected.

It came as a pleasant shock when the holes in her lungs and side healed in the first three days, and her ribs tentatively bound together by the fifth day. All the healer had to do was set the ribs and use nen to fuse the open wounds together, and the girl's body did the rest. She coughed out the rest of the blood sitting in her lungs, which nearly displaced her ribs again, and with a little sleep, she was perfectly fine.

She was already sick of the room, with the warm and lived in feeling and simple polished wood furnishing. She was not made to stay in one place for very long without entertainment and without training. Even when she was with Chrollo in Meteor City, she took nice long runs around the trash heaps, walking up to citizens in broad daylight and 'killing' them without actually taking their lives. Not only was it interesting to see the looks of pure terror on their faces when they put their hands to their throats only to realize nothing hurt, but some had actually considered it a game, and attacked her in return. It was a lot of fun, especially when Feitan got curious and tried to follow her one day. Long story short, she lost the fastest member of the Ryoudan in the first mile, and left him standing there confused.

Besides, it killed a lot of time to leave Meteor City and get food two or three times a day, considering that the only edible things in the trash dumps were radioactive mushrooms and poisonous, diseased rats. She had no idea how the Ryoudan could eat such things, but even she didn't want to risk it. Chrollo had offered, of course, to cook some mushrooms for her. But she was _not_ willing to die from something as stupid as consuming mushrooms unfit for human—or animal—consumption.

…Did that mean the Ryoudan and the citizens of Meteor City didn't count as living beings?

Luna stretched comfortably, feeling her body out for any signs of unhealed injuries. She had felt like a sloth for the past week, lying around doing nothing except eating and sleeping and petting her oversized cat, with the occasional visit from Hisoka.

Her body still felt stiff, but at least she was fully healed. The perks of having an abnormal healing rate, she supposed, but when a child had been force fed poisons and put through various types of physical torture the Valdis and Zoldyck families called 'training', those who did not heal fast usually did not survive until the age of three either. She knew very well that the rival assassin family did the same training the Valdis did, because of 'exchange the children day'. That was not quite hell, but it came close enough. She was _sure_ the Zoldycks had been trying to kill her and Nova, but it was slight mollification to know that her family was doing the same to Illumi and… Milk or something. She could never remember that strange geek's name. Needless to say, neither family had tried something like that again.

She grabbed her newly acquired hunter license from the bedside table and pocketed it before standing. She supposed it wasn't that bad a trade, a hunter license for a sandwich. At least on the bright side, the Hunter Association would not be using the same location and password for a long, long time, so she could safely get her sandwich next time.

Not to mention that she got to see Hisoka for the first time since she joined the payroll of the Ryoudan.

But, well, she had her fun. It was time to get back to Chrollo and tell him that, no, she had not gotten lost, and no, despite having three different species attempt to consume her, she was still very much alive and undigested. Besides, if anybody actually tried to eat her, they would end up with very bad stomach aches and a very painful death.

Two sharp raps sounded on the door. Luna glanced up, but before she could even open her mouth to tell them they could come in, the door opened. Her brow twitched. The lack of manners these days…

Hisoka stepped in and froze, eyes scanning her. His eyes narrowed. "You're leaving."

Luna nodded. "Going back to Chrollo."

The moment she mentioned the Ryoudan leader's name, Hisoka's eyes darkened. He closed the distance between them in a few short strides, ignoring the warning growl from Orion. He slammed a hand onto the bed, leaning close enough to her to feel her body heat.

"You are _not_ going back to _him_ ," Hisoka practically hissed.

She cocked her head, not moving from the spot, despite Hisoka being way too close. If she moved forward just an inch, she would be kissing him. Actually… Her eyes flicked down to his lips. If she kissed him, would he be shocked enough to give her enough time to escape?

Probably not, Luna decided. And she didn't want his teeth anywhere near her. She had seen him bite someone's throat out before.

"You still owe me a favour," Hisoka drawled, moving even closer.

This time, Luna leaned back. The back of her knees hit the side of the bed, and she fell into a seated position with a soft 'poof'. She raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't sticking your hand through my gut dissolve that favour?"

"One favour left," Hisoka smiled, lips tight.

His eyes scanned her, looking for any sign of what she would decide. For the first time he cursed her stoic expression, so much like Illumi's poker face. It was so easy to read the two assassins, yet so difficult. It was such a pain trying to guess what they were thinking when they became unpredictable.

And if she did decide to return to Chrollo right then, Hisoka _would_ kill her.

Luna sighed. "Fine. I'll tell Chrollo."

Golden eyes narrowed further, glaring, searching for any signs of trickery. He probably didn't need to, considering that she wasn't a transmutation type. Conjurers didn't lie much. They were more straightforward, logical. _And impossibly, unbelievably, irritatingly stoic_ …

Hisoka moved back, allowing her room, but still cautious. He relaxed slightly when she took out a cellphone—since when did she have one of those, or better yet, since when did _Chrollo_ have one of those?—and typed in a message, pressed send.

Luna glanced up at Hisoka and opened her mouth to speak, but her phone gave a 'ding', telling her that there was a message. She glanced down, and her lips twitched. No rush, hmm? Luna sighed and put her phone away.

Hisoka's expression changed into one of a satisfied hyena who managed to steal a gazelle from right under a lion's nose, but quickly wiped it off his face, opting for a blank smile instead. It wouldn't be good if she changed her mind after seeing that expression of victory.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Thank you, laxusdrayer2324, Tigre-chan, GreyTones, KurohoshiX, gOthiCkUrOcHo69, and RavenWhite'sFeatheredPen for favoriting/following!

BloodySliver: thank you!

Sara O: I'm glad you like the story. I didn't think Hisoka would be the type who knows when he's jealous. He just knows he doesn't like anybody else stealing what was _his_.

KurohoshiX: Thank you! I do try to make the story fun, as in interesting + humor. The new arc is starting, so once I get on a roll, the next updates should come pretty quickly. I agree that Hisoka needs more love. There are (surprisingly) too few Hisoka x OC stories.

I have a strange habit of writing the last chapter way before I finish the story. Is it just me who does that? I find that it's always the easiest one to write. Now I have to write everything in between...

* * *

"You want to..." the woman at the desk stared at the girl wide eyed. "You want to register a _cat_?"

"A panteron," Luna corrected. "It's not a cat if it doesn't meow. Orion doesn't meow. Do you?"

Orion replied by letting out a nice loud _meow_. She stared at him as if she was seeing him for the first time.

"He's not a cat," Luna stubbornly told the woman, completely ignoring the sound her cat just made.

"Umm… Sorry, but cats can't register as participants," the woman at the desk said, smile twitching half with nervousness and half with annoyance.

Luna stared blankly back at the woman. The woman smiled back, even if the smile was becoming increasingly forced by the second. She had heard some strange requests over the years. One had included forcing all male participants to wear bikinis while fighting, and another had involved adding tightropes to the arenas. She denied everything, of course. But this was the first time she had ever heard of adding a _cat_ of all things as a fighter.

Even if said 'cat' was known as one of the most powerful animals in the world, and stood at the height of a small pony. To think it was still _growing_. The woman's gaze shifted nervously to the oversized cat. In comparison with fully grown panteron, the kitten following the girl was barely dangerous. To compare an adult with a kitten was like comparing a lion to a gazelle. A gazelle was still dangerous with its hooves and possible horns, but it could not match a lion.

Still, it _was_ a dangerous animal compared to humans. That didn't matter much, of course. Heaven's Arena let in fighters of different calibers. The vast difference between Hisoka's strength—Hisoka might not be the best example; perhaps Kastro would be a better one?—and that of most other fighters in the Arena proved that Heaven's Arena did not care about a fighter's qualifications, as long as they passed the first hundred ninety nine levels and what the Desk Workers called the Hallway of Doom.

No. The problem was that it wasn't human, therefore could not discern between who it could and could not kill, and did not understand the rules.

"But Orion needs to train," Luna stated.

"Y-yes, but you see, the rules…"

The stare that met the woman's gaze was blank enough to mistake for a whitewashed wall. She sighed, holding her head in her hands. Her mother had told her to go to university. Her father had told her to get a decent desk job. She was a smart woman. She had a slew of jobs to pick from.

 _So why in the world was she stupid enough to choose to work at the Heaven's Arena_?

Unknown to the woman, Luna was thinking along almost the same lines. Of all the places they could have gone, Hisoka _had_ to bring her back to Heaven's Arena. She should have expected it. If nothing interesting was going on elsewhere in the world, with interesting defined as 'a shitload of strong people to piss off before fighting and killing them all, the building was practically Hisoka's home.

He puzzled more than a few fighters in the arena. He would skip the fights that would give him the right to challenge the Floor Master, even though he would obviously win. He threw away the chance—and multiple times, on top of that—of becoming a Floor Master and living out the rest of his life in comfort, or at least until he was defeated by a challenger. It was the goal for many people at the Heaven's Arena.

But Luna found it exceedingly simple to understand him, if you only looked at the big picture. He wanted to fight strong opponents. That was it. He had no interest in a position where he would most likely have to wait months before some overly proud and confident weakling came up to him, only to be decimated in seconds if Hisoka was feeling merciful.

If he wasn't, he would toy with them, slicing them to ribbons bit by bit before they finally bled out or bored him enough to make him slit their throat.

That said, he only remained at Heaven's Arena for so long because of the higher chances of finding someone interesting to fight. The outside world was much larger and much more difficult to sift through. Becoming a member of the Ryoudan only got him closer to the group of powerful bandits, and aiming to become a hunter would let him get near enough to the nen users he wanted to fight.

"So can I at least use him in my fights?" Luna asked.

The woman seemed to melt with relief. "Yes. Go ahead."

In hindsight, it may have been a bad idea, the woman at the desk thought. She stared at the arena through the television screen. The girl—the woman always remembered the faces of people who made weird requests—sat on the side of the arena, swinging her legs as she stared up at the ceiling lights. The woman could see the referee staring at the girl and the girl's opponent growing more furious by the second. The man's face was already beet red, his chest heaving with angry breaths. A pulsating vein throbbed on his forehead, clearly visible even with the video cameras positioned so far from the arena. He would burst a vein if he worked himself up any more.

His gaze was flicking between the girl and his opponent—the cat.

"Come on, you little bitch! Too scared to fight me without your big scary cat?" The man jeered.

"Orion, he's weak. Defeat him in thirty seconds," Luna ordered, her tone bored.

"The fu—" was the only thing the man could say through the hyperventilation, and his fists clenched at his sides.

He would _slaughter_ that little shit.

But Luna completely ignored him, not even bothering to acknowledge his existence. She extended her nen, of course, still making it look untrained, but as if she had basic control. If anything happened she would sense it and she could get into the fight at any time. She doubted she would need to. This guy was overly weak, and Orion could handle him without a problem.

The cat gave her a low growl of acknowledgement at her orders. Orion leapt, claws flashing in the lights.

Luna sighed, wondering _when_ the match would end as she stared up at the ceiling lights. Why did they have to be so bright? The beams shining on the arena were always overly bright, basically blinding the any fighter whose opponent was smart enough to wear a lot of metal. Jewellery, armour, anything that shone.

… That was an idea. Next time Hisoka fought, she could suggest he wear a lot of sparkly things. He was flamboyant enough to actually do it, but Luna shuddered as she imagined Hisoka wearing sparkly clothes and any jewellery aside from earrings. She wasn't sure she wanted to see that sight.

All of a sudden, she heard a loud groan and a soft whine, and finally turned to look into the arena.

Orion looked proud, almost like he was smirking. His owner was right, he thought as he sat on the man's back, his tail lashing cheerfully, long scratches running down both the man's front and back. Orion had treated the man like a scratching post, and only got three good scratches in before the man fell over and passed out.

"Erm… Knock out?" The referee said, the words sounding more like a question than an announcement.

"Winner, Lu—I mean Ori—I mean…" The announcer said, confused.

"Winner, Orion," Luna concluded, pushing herself off the arena and landing softly on her feet. "Come on, Orion. You have to practice nen again today."

The girl and her cat walked off the screen. The woman behind the desk groaned. She was so going to get fired if anybody found out she was the one who allowed this atrocity. She was going down in the Hall of Infamy for the Stupid Desk Workers, alongside the woman who let a purple giraffe elephant hybrid participate in matches, and the woman who allowed a participant to install disco balls and DJ stands in every arena he fought in.

And of course, she mustn't forget to include in the most famous—and for some contestants, the most hated—woman in the Hall of Infamy for the Stupid Desk Workers, the woman who let Hisoka register as a participant.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: WARNING- adult stuff in the chapter. Lime, I think it is called? I had no idea where to stop, so I just did at a place I thought made sense. Feedback would be appreciated, since I'm a novice. I can't write outright sex for Hisoka. No idea how to mix violence/pain and sex.

If anybody has any suggestions for stories with _good_ lemon/lime that I can learn from, please tell me!

Thank you MenacingPancake, musicalocelot, and via26 for following/ favoriting!

BloodySliver: I'm glad you enjoyed that. Too bad the opponent was so weak. With Hisoka and Luna training him, Orion will probably be the scariest, and most well trained nen using cat in the world.

laxusdrayer2324: Haha! Thank you. We like watching Hisoka fight, but I'm pretty sure that he's so scary (and creepy) to everyone else that everybody who has ever fought him in Heaven's Arena cursed that woman who let him participate.

* * *

Luna checked her phone for the umpteenth time in the last hour. Chrollo _still_ hadn't messaged her. She felt like one of those… what do you call them? Teenage high school girls waiting for their boyfriends to call. Not that she understood _why_ they would waste their time like that. If they weren't stuck somewhere like she was, they could always go out and find a few jobs and kill a few people, make the world a better place by exterminating trash and all that.

She sighed. It was so _boring_ at Heaven's Arena. She wasn't like Hisoka, who enjoyed fighting. She was an _assassin_ , for goodness sakes! She did not enjoy spotlights and large audiences and having the target actually _see_ her coming!

It didn't help that the number of weaklings in the tower—at least compared to her and Hisoka—rivalled the number of cockroaches in Meteor City. And need she mention that cockroaches replaced popcorn when the citizens were lucky enough to get a working television hooked up to a trashed nuclear core?

Hisoka glanced over at her sigh, raising a delicate eyebrow. She ignored him. Really, she didn't know why she had to share a room with him either. There were enough rooms at the Heaven's Arena for everybody there and their grandmothers and dogs to have separate rooms. Luna could only conclude that the 'I'm sorry, but we do not have enough rooms at the moment; can you two share a room?' was due to Hisoka. He had probably threatened or freaked out the poor woman at the desk, just to get her in the same room as him.

"Chibi-chan~" Hisoka cooed, reaching over to tug a lock of hair.

She ignored him.

He tugged harder, the smile fading a little.

She ignored him.

He scowled, yet somehow still maintained an upwards turn of his lips. Hisoka tugged once again on her hair before his hand crept up towards her shoulder, and with a swift movement, shoved her back against the bed. He moved to hover over her, fingers tangling in the black hair sprawled out over the sheets.

She stared blankly up at him.

He stared back for a moment, pursing his lips, as if thinking about a difficult decision. Golden eyes scanned her for a moment, before he smiled. It wasn't like a smile like that was anything new. But somehow, the look in his eyes sent unpleasant shivers up Luna's spine. Her brows furrowed, and she contemplated jumping out the window when he moved off her and towards the door, holding it open with an expectant look at the lounging panteron.

"Orion, _out_ ," Hisoka ordered.

The cat's ears perked up before pressing flat against his head. Orion did _not_ take orders from Hisoka, no matter how scary the clown was. Hisoka's eyes narrowed at the disobedience. His lips pressed together and he took a single step towards the cat, fully intent on grabbing the scruff of his neck and throwing him bodily out of the room.

As if sensing the man's intentions, Orion yelped and shot out of the room in a blur of black and gold, racing down the hall. He was sure he could find someone less dangerous than Hisoka to play with him somewhere. Maybe that giant guy with two battle axes instead of hands would be willing to accompany him.

Hisoka's mouth formed the smile once again as he shut the door and locked it. Luna's eyes widened and she shifted back, eyes flicking nervously between the man and the window.

Falling over two hundred floors to the ground would probably hurt less than whatever Hisoka was planning.

In hindsight, she would think she was just about correct in that assumption, but for now, she had no idea what was going through the flamboyant performer's mind, and she did _not_ like her ignorance.

She was quite sure he wasn't looking for a fight. If he was, he would tell her outright and drag her to the arena for an official match, where he would not have to bother with getting somebody to clean all the blood from the room. He wouldn't have sent Orion out either, as the panteron would have added to the entertainment factor. And if Hisoka wasn't looking for a fight, she had no ideas left about _what_ he wanted from her.

"Woah there," Hisoka said, grabbing her wrist as she made a desperate lunge for the window.

Well, at least she was no longer bored.

"You were bored, hmm?" Hisoka hummed, but he didn't look displeased at all.

"Of course not," Luna lied.

"Even if I suggest a way to remove your boredom?"

Luna's brows furrowed, the girl eyeing him suspiciously. The only things Hisoka didn't consider boring were fighting, finding new 'fruits' to wait for, and teasing slash provoking people. And perhaps even purposely creeping people out.

Hisoka's devious smile only grew as he slowly slid his hands up her skin tight tank top, pushing up the fabric along the way. Her skin was surprisingly soft, the light ridges of her scars almost velvety under the pads of his fingers. He felt her stiffen when his knuckles brushed the underside of her sports bra, and his sharpened nails traced the bottom of the material.

"Still bored?" Hisoka blew a puff of cold air into her ear, indulging in her shivers.

"…Stop," she said, voice soft as usual, and irritatingly composed.

Hisoka's eyes narrowed, and with a fluid motion, ripped her shirt and bra up over her head and arms, and threw it to a corner of the room. He saw the girl's skin ripple in shivers as the cold air hit warm skin, her arms cross over her chest to hide herself. The contrast between the bare top and clothed lower body was tantalizing.

His lips parted for his tongue to flick out over his lips. Hisoka's head lowered to the junction between her neck and shoulder, nipping at her skin _almost_ too hard. The gasp only encouraged him.

Hisoka moved lower and lower, ignoring her hidden chest for now—plenty of time to play later—a sharp nail following the trail of saliva his tongue left behind. She squirmed as his nail dug into skin, drawing a shallow line of blood down her abdomen. It didn't _hurt_ , per se, but the sensation was strange. In a disturbingly pleasant way. Luna really hoped she wasn't turning into a masochist.

But when his finger brushed against her core— _where_ did her pants go?—she found herself thinking that if it was underneath Hisoka, she wouldn't really mind being a sadomasochist.

She gasped as the point of his nail hooked into the fabric of her underwear, tapping against something _really_ sensitive, even as his thumb pressed hard against her opening, almost slipping in.

Hisoka smirked. The girl was obviously inexperienced, a complete novice when it came to her body and sex. He felt a shiver of pleasure run down his belly to pool at his groin, his already hardened length stiffening further. But he held back. Instead, he slipped a finger past the dampened fabric, a hand pushing against a pale thigh to keep her from trying to wriggle away from the unknown, weird feeling of something inside her. Hisoka took his time to play and tease, thumb rubbing against her button while his finger thrust in and out, nail barely scraping her insides.

He felt the skin of his fingers start to burn, and furrowed his brows in confusion. Then he suddenly understood. She was poisonous, and it didn't only apply to her blood. The perplexed expression disappeared, replaced by mounting lust at the prospect of experiencing a new type of pain. _Interesting_. It would only add to the fun.

She whimpered, bucking against his hand before realization dawned on her face, and she forced her body to hold still, to keep from once again moving against her will. Hisoka pursed his lips, frowning slightly. He _enjoyed_ the reaction.

So he removed his finger, almost widening his grin when he saw the almost disappointed look on her face, before he tore the soaked underwear off. This time, without any warning, he inserted two fingers, increasing the pressure and roughness, tempting another reaction from the girl. He saw her turn her head away and shove her index finger against her lips, biting down on it to keep from making any noise.

Hisoka glanced up at her and raised his eyebrow. No matter. He would make her scream in a moment, whether she wanted to or not.

The trickster quickly threw off his shirt and dropped his pants, the pressure already too much. He moved to hover over her once again.

"Ready?" Hisoka purred.

He received no reply aside from her flushed cheeks and unusually quick breathing, but he knew she was ready enough.

Hisoka smirked, and he began to _play._


	24. Chapter 24

They acted perfectly normally the next morning. Luna was pleasantly surprised to find herself still in one piece—albeit with a few gaping wounds that would heal in a couple of days—and Hisoka pleasantly surprised to find himself riddled with scabs from the shallow injuries burned into his skin by her bodily fluids, including her blood. He hadn't quite been able to make her scream, but the breathy moans in his ear were good enough for now. He had all the time in the world—before he killed her, that was—to find all her weak spots and use them to his advantage.

His golden eyes opened slightly, then fully as he watched her roll out of bed, her pale skin peppered with bite marks and dried blood. She was shameless now, either because she didn't know he was watching, or because she felt no need to hide after last night's activities. Hisoka would bet on the latter. Nudity had never really been an issue for her, considering that she always remained calm when he was naked.

Or was that just on the outside?

Well, it didn't really matter to Hisoka, since he had a nice view… Only for it to disappear as she entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Hisoka pouted, wondering if he could join her in the shower. He decided not to, of course. He, too, could feel Orion's nen outside the door where it had been for the last few hours, and he was sure she wouldn't be happy if Hisoka scarred the kitten's mind.

After her shower, Luna opened the door to find Orion sitting innocently outside practicing _ren_ , his mind happily unscarred by all the noises from the night before. Small wonder, considering that he was playing the nen version of 'catch the shadow' with the double axed man, and not sitting outside listening like some kind of perverted old man.

Luna would gladly admit that Hisoka _had_ , in fact, relieved her boredom last night. But she was bored _again_ , and she doubted that having sex with Hisoka all the time was good for her, no matter how pleasurable. It wasn't that she would get pregnant. She wouldn't. The poison in her body was enough to kill any sperm that somehow found its way inside her. That was the reason men never went to assassin women to marry and start a family.

…Or was it that they were _assassins_ that turned men away?

Regardless, the Valdis males—and no doubt Zoldyck ones too—were less poisonous than the females. They had to keep their sperm alive, after all, otherwise their bloodlines would die out. And if females wanted children, well, they had to go years without taking in any poisons so their bodies would eventually dilute the toxic substances enough for them to get pregnant.

Luna glanced at the clock. Her cat had been practicing _ren_ for five hours now, and was still going steady. She had felt his aura when she was asleep, and had woken, turned to look at the clock to find it too early to wake, before she turned back into the warm bed.

"Come on. Let's find your aura type," she said to Orion.

The cat's ears perked up happily and he turned to trot into the room, an extra bounce in his step, squeezing a little to get through the door. Luna stared at the cat, wondering when in the world he had gotten so big. It seemed like just yesterday that he only reached her hip, and now he stood to her shoulders, and was still growing. If his mother was any indication, when he reached his full size, his hackles would be at eye level with Hisoka.

She nearly groaned. How much food would he eat then, if he could already eat a whole cow each day?

Orion sat down and waved his dragon-like tail in anticipation, making sure not to knock anything over. It had taken forever—a few weeks—to reach this stage. His mistress would not let him go past _ren_ until he could maintain it for half a day without effort, and apparently maintaining it for five hours was enough for the girl.

As Luna poured a glass of water and plucked a leaf off the potted plant next to the windowsill, Hisoka raised his head to glance at the duo, before his lips curled up. He changed positions, lying on his stomach with his head at the foot of the bed, head propped up by his hands so he could watch them.

Orion froze mid step, ears flattening in alarm. The man wasn't wearing clothes, but that didn't really bother the cat. He smelled like his mistress and her blood. And when Luna returned to Orion's side, the cat gave a discreet sniff, only to notice she smelled like the man too. Orion's ears swivelled, the cat confused as to what he should feel about them being mates. He couldn't say he didn't like the man, but he was creepy and terrifying. Orion could only hope that being his mistress' mate meant the man would go easier on the cat.

The girl placed the glass in front of the cat, and Orion stared blankly at it. What in the world was he supposed to do with a glass of water and a leaf? Surely he didn't have to _drink_ it, would he? He wasn't fond of the idea of consuming a leaf. He was a carnivore for a reason.

"Water divination," Luna answered his silent question. "Put your… paws next to the glass and perform _ren._ "

The cat scooted forward to do as she said. It was strange, to say the least, to lift his paws to face each other as if he was going to bat at something. But if his mistress demanded it… Orion concentrated, scrunching his forehead. One second… Two seconds…

He yelped and jumped back as the water overflowed, licking his paws where the water had touched him. He was a _cat_. Cats _hated_ water except for drinking. And Hisoka dumping him into the lake back in the forest to bathe didn't help Orion like water any more.

"Enhancer," she said flatly.

Orion whined, wondering if she was disappointed.

She shook her head and rubbed the top of Orion's head, feeling him lean into her touch. "Should have expected it. What can a cat do with anything else?"

Orion turned to lick her hand, golden eyes glancing hopefully up at her. So she wasn't disappointed?

"This is good," Luna said, and Orion felt a wave of relief. "You can increase your strength, speed, and anything else you need to with your nen."

"Hmm," Hisoka hummed. "So he is simple and straightforward, and acts according to how he thinks and feels. You're right. You should have been able to guess what he is based on how he behaves."

She shrugged, not taking offense at the obvious jibe. "Doesn't hurt to make sure."

"You want him to start training his _hatsu_ , right? But you have to skip the next fight, unless you want to challenge and become the Floor Master," Hisoka commented.

Luna paused, frowning a little, thinking. It would be good for Orion to fight a Floor Master, just to see how far he could get. She could always interfere if Orion's opponent was too strong, but she doubted it. It wasn't easy to become a Floor Master, but Orion was a member of the species that could kill a handful each of hunters and hunter candidates.

"No. I'll let him fight the Floor Master," Luna said. "But we'll forfeit near the end of the fight."

"The Floor Master won't be happy," Hisoka said.

"No," Luna's lips twitched into a small smile, mischief dancing in her eyes. "But there's nothing he or she could do about it."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: AllyKat15, Culture Shock, BlackMoonWhiteSky-thank you for following and favoriting.

Bloody Sliver: Yup. Hisoka's back. I didn't even notice that Hisoka never showed up in chapter 22...

Guest: Thank you for the review/feedback! I would have written a lemon, but even after having written a sort-of graphic one once and a not-so-graphic one once, I'm hella uncomfortable writing that stuff. Even a lime has me blushing. Strange, since I don't react that way when reading them. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll take a look at the story (or more specifically the lemon scenes).

Guest 2: Thank you!

Guest 3 (hard to differentiate with all the 'guests'): I agree that there's not enough Hisoka/OC. I'm glad you like Luna! I feel like someone like her is a good fit for Hisoka because she's a lot like him, yet so different. They kind of balance each other out in normal situations, yet if they go on a violent rampage, they do it together and enjoy it. I'm sure there will be more limes. No lemons, though, since I definitely don't know how to write sadistic lemons.

laxusdrayer2324: Orion probably had a lot of fun :) At least he didn't hear Luna and Hisoka. He's still a kitten, and too young for that stuff! Luna probably doesn't really think much of the last chapter's events. She already knows Hisoka's emotions are limited to various types of lust, and she thinks she herself is incapable of love. So... Yeah. Purely physical?

* * *

The crowd was larger than usual, but it couldn't be helped. They were fighting a Floor Master, and the fight could determine a new Floor Master who could actually be unusually difficult to defeat. Of course, only three people knew differently. Luna would not allow herself to become a Floor Master.

She was already bored out of her mind while fighting every day, and they wanted her to be bored out of her mind without getting to fight every day? Yeah—no.

"Remember. Enhance speed, enhance power," Luna instructed, and the cat nodded with a low growl, not taking his eyes off his opponent.

Luna patted Orion's head.

The crowd roared, half with shock and half with outrage. The girl had the gall to fight a Floor Master without fighting! To use her _cat_ to fight, of all things… It was acceptable in the rest of the fights, but to disrespect a Floor Master like that was unforgiveable.

Unfortunately they couldn't do anything about it.

Besides, if they knew what was coming, their outrage would be ten times worse. Not like the girl cared. If they tried to mob her, she could disappear, killing a few in the process. It would be fun, and she had no doubt that Hisoka would gleefully help. After all, fighting a whole crowd was a lot more entertaining than fighting the weaklings one by one.

"Begin!" The referee said, and quickly retreated to the edge of the arena.

Unlike in all the other matches, Luna remained standing, eyes carefully watching Orion, a single eye blazing with blue nen. She could see him gather the nen at his paws, continuing the experiment he began in the last match, trying to find the best way to use _hatsu_.

She didn't teach him. Like the way her family had trained her, she preferred to let him figure things out on his own, creating his own style and method, only correcting him if he did something wrong or harmful to himself. Orion didn't mind, really. In spite of the rare praises, high expectations, and harsh commands, he found his mistress surprisingly easy to please. He just had to follow the few orders she gave, and train on his own, aiming to improve himself day by day, hour by hour.

It paid off.

The panteron that had just learned about his _hatsu_ merely two days ago put on a burst of speed, blurring past the punch, before a hind leg kicked against the ground to stop his momentum. An extra bit of nen and Orion changed direction, twisting behind his opponent with his claws outstretched.

The man turned just in time to grab Orion's claws before they could rip through his skin, but the panteron's enhanced strength was too much for the emitter. Orion knocked his opponent to the floor, fangs snapping for the man's throat. The man's eyes flicked. Luna's eyes narrowed.

"Orion!" Luna barked.

The cat's ears perked, golden eyes searching. Finding the source of danger, he tried to pull away, but his opponent kept a firm grip on his paws. Orion's eyes widened. He twisted, straining his muscles to the point of spraining his joints, but to no avail. Orion roared. But he knew his mistress wouldn't help him, that he needed the experience and needed to increase his pain tolerance.

It didn't stop him from smelling the rage that emanated from her when she saw blood dripping down his side, though.

Muscles finally growing tired, Orion's opponent let go of the cat, both springing apart. Orion turned to lick his injury, but his golden eyes remained trained on his opponent, who wasn't as smart. He watched Luna with a smug look on his face; he had some right to form that expression, Luna supposed, considering that he was the first to injure her cat.

But it wasn't enough to get her in the fight.

"You have three minutes," Luna said. "Before I finish this for you."

Orion's eyes widened before he whined, afraid that he had disappointed her. Yet what he smelled from her wasn't disappointment, but rage. So was she angry at him? He hoped not. He had seen her furious only once, with the anger directed at Hisoka, and he already knew he never wanted Luna turning her anger towards him.

Orion growled, falling into a crouch. It didn't matter. As long as he finished the fight in three minutes, she would be pleased. With a loud roar, he leapt for his opponent, darting in every direction, but closing in inch by inch. He knew his muscles would ache the next day, but it didn't matter. This man was stronger than the others. If Orion didn't go all out, he wouldn't win.

His claws nicked bare skin—his opponent wore too little—and blood dripped onto the floor bit by bit. None of the wounds were too deep or two dangerous, of course, but the gashes were getting deeper and longer with every hit, and every little bit of pain helped slow the opponent. After all, the man wasn't Hisoka or Luna, and didn't have that kind of ridiculous pain tolerance.

Morning stars made of nen shot out randomly, the Floor Master growing increasingly furious, increasingly agitated. He couldn't hit Orion after the first attack, and that only served to frustrate him. For a _cat_ of all things to be beating him… He bared his teeth in a grimace, and his eyes flicked to the pale girl. He smirked. The cat was strong. But the girl looked weak.

As if by accident, he hurled a morning star towards the girl with all his strength. Good. It was moving quickly and powerfully. Even if she saw it coming, she wouldn't have time to dodge—

Luna took a step sideways, and the morning star flew harmlessly past her, into an unlucky audience member. The person let out a scream of pain and she could hear a thud as whoever got hit fell head first out of the audience area, bleeding out onto the floor. She could sense the medics rush out and hurry the person away.

She never turned her head.

"One minute," she drawled, eyes half closed in boredom.

Orion growled a low affirmative. He sprung for the legs, arms, slicing and biting through any exposed muscle. Luna's lips twitched, and she began to walk forward slowly. Orion's heart thudded faster against his chest, he began to move desperately, trying to end the fight as quickly as possible without being caught by the man's barrage of randomly directed physical and nen attacks.

It was with relief that he finally knocked the man over and held exposed claws to his throat.

"We forfeit," Luna called out suddenly.

Orion blinked in surprise and shot her a wounded look. The crowd that had been cheering and booing the entire time fell completely silent. Everybody except Hisoka was staring at the girl in utter shock.

"Come on," Luna said to Orion.

He whined, frowning, but bounded after her.

And the crowd roared, outraged. She could hear insults flung at her, words that anybody under eighteen should never hear. So she simply tuned them all out, opting instead to rub the cat behind his ears, silently telling him that he hadn't done anything wrong, that he had fought well. Of course, Orion's mood immediately perked up.

"Oi! Bitch! Wait! You can't—" The Floor Master sputtered, voice barely audible over the noise of the crowd.

She paused and glanced over her shoulder at him. "Be glad we didn't kill you."

The man only gaped at her in disbelief. Be _glad_ they didn't kill him? This was the greatest disrespect anybody had _ever_ shown him! It was even worse than the time when a mugger had grabbed his wallet, taken a look inside, and handed it back without touching it, before shooting him a pitying look and walking away!

"Uhhh… Match over, forfeited by Luna-senshu. The Floor Master remains the same!" The announcer shouted, noticing that the referee was still in a daze and unable to say a thing.

And with that, she walked away, leaving a plethora of furious and disappointed people behind.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Listening to Hisoka's character and theme song over and over (the one in the new version anime) as I write. So addicting! I have a suspicion that every time I hear any similar music, I would immediately think of Hisoka or Debito from Arcana Famiglia. His character song is really good too.

* * *

A presence stood outside the door. Luna sat up, frowning, even as two pairs of golden eyes opened. After the fight with the Floor Master—or more accurately, the _humiliation_ of the Floor Master—she had expected haters to come after her. Thus far, it was probably only Hisoka's presence that deterred them.

It disappointed the Joker, of course. He had giggled madly at the idea of the weaklings at Heaven's Arena attempting to assassinate the prodigious Valdis assassin. More so than that thought, he had enjoyed the prospect of killing anybody who attacked her.

They had been so _furious_ after the match, and he could hear audience members deliberating ambushing the fragile looking girl. It would serve her right, they said, for making light of the Floor Master position. Hisoka only smiled, inwardly scoffing at them. They obviously hadn't been at the Heaven's Arena for very long. Or was it simply that Luna hadn't returned to Heaven's Arena for such a long time that everyone had forgotten her?

 _Knock knock_.

Hisoka's eyes closed once again, the man no longer interested. Nobody planning to ambush or attack someone knocked on the door, unless they knew nothing about surprise attacks. They could be calling the girl out too, but Hisoka doubted that the single presence, completely untrained in nen, would dare attack the girl so obviously partnered with Hisoka.

Unless, of course, the person at the door was the same as Luna.

He doubted it, of course. Luna was a one in a million. Hisoka usually had very keen senses for who was strong and who wasn't, as well as who had potential. To think he completely disregarded the girl when they first met… Well, it was a mistake he never made again. From then on he always attacked with the intent to kill, and if the opponent managed to dodge or block him, he developed an interest. Whether he killed them sooner or later depended on whether they met his expectations or not.

Luna was thinking along the same lines as Hisoka. It was two in the morning, for goodness sakes. She was an assassin, therefore nocturnal, but between Hisoka and Heaven's Arena, her sleeping schedule had been severely messed up. She wanted to _sleep_.

But the knocking persisted, and it didn't seem like their unwanted guest was going to let the light sleeper fall asleep. Luna groaned and poked Hisoka. The corners of his lips twitched upwards, and Luna knew he was awake, but he didn't seem inclined to actually get up and go to the door, not even to kill whoever was disturbing their rest.

With a small sigh, Luna padded to the door and opened it. The man who stood on the other side knocked on air for a few moments before he realized the door was open, and stared blankly into thin air. Only then did he realize the person who opened the door was below his line of vision, and looked down at her with a professional smile.

Luna obviously didn't return the smile, opting to raise an eyebrow, but the man's smile didn't falter. It soon began to creep her out, and that was saying a lot, considering that she spent so much time with a few members of the Ryoudan—Feitan, specifically, could be considered very creepy by normal standards, or perhaps even downright frightening—and Hisoka.

"Hello. You must be Luna Valdis. I am Kaido Gakushi. May I come in?"

"It's two in the morning," Luna said flatly.

"Yes. I apologize. I just finished work," the man said smoothly. "So may I?"

She gave him a very unamused look. It was obvious that he was the type who didn't care about other people, just about his own convenience. In other words, a typical wealthy apex level businessman. She would bet that he hired and fired people at a whim, willing to get rid of someone if they were five seconds late or couldn't make coffee to his liking.

"Depends on what you want," Hisoka drawled, not bothering to leave the bed.

"I have a proposal for you," Kaido replied.

"How many people can we fight and kill?" Hisoka asked.

"Many. And they are quite strong. Enough to keep you from being bored, at least," the man said, a cold smirk forming on his lips. "And you will be handsomely rewarded."

"Oh?" Hisoka purred, immediately interested.

Luna turned to stare blankly at Hisoka, before sighing. Of course Hisoka would accept, if the job interested him enough. He cared less about the money. As long as the opponents were fun to play with, Hisoka would take the job. And Luna doubted that she would stay behind if Hisoka decided to go. It was just so boring at Heaven's Arena that she would probably take the offer in a heartbeat, even if Kaido seemed like a snake that could betray them at any time.

Luna sighed and moved aside so they wouldn't have to finish their conversation in the doorway. "Come in."

"Much obliged," Kaido said and swept past her, taking care to step over Orion's tail.

The man sat on one of the chairs next to the window, crossing one leg over the other and linking his hands over his knee. Luna flicked on the light and shut the door before moving back to the bed and sitting down. Hisoka didn't move except to turn towards the man, the blanket falling to his waist and exposing his bare top.

Kaido raised a delicately arched brow, his gaze shifting between Luna and Hisoka. That the two shared a room was suspicious enough—it was now obvious that the two were lovers. He could not see why somebody as powerful as Hisoka would bother with a girl like her—she _was_ a pretty little thing, but a little young, unless Hisoka liked them that way—but he wouldn't question the Joker's tastes and preferences. As long as the girl didn't get in the way of the job, of course.

"So? Talk," Luna said.

Kaido frowned at her. Little girls should stay out of a man's business. But since he wanted Hisoka's cooperation, he refrained from saying anything to the girl. After all, who knew how much the man cared for her?

"I would like to hire you to be my guard," Kaido said.

Hisoka immediately frowned, and Kaido could see the man losing interest.

"Now, as I said, there will be enemies to fight and kill," Kaido continued quickly. "My business rivals have taken to sending trained fighters, and powerful ones at that, to kill me. Jealous of my success, no doubt. They have already killed all the guards I have hired, and I have no choice but to find someone as strong as you."

Flattery never hurt, Kaido thought. But he really didn't understand Hisoka. He was lucky that he added the next line, because Hisoka had already lost interest, and was seconds away from turning him down.

What a normal human considered strong and what Hisoka considered strong were two very different things.

And Hisoka did _not_ like the way the businessman seemed to dismiss Luna right off the bat, even if Hisoka had once been guilty of the same thing.

"At this rate, they may even hire the Valdis or Zoldycks, and normal guards will not be able to handle them," Kaido finished.

Hisoka smiled indulgently. He knew very well no Valdis would go after Kaido, except perhaps Luna if the man angered her. They were all dead, after all, killed by himself and the girl sitting beside him. The possibility of fighting the Zoldycks, on the other hand… Hisoka could always message Illumi and ask if anybody was hired to target Kaido. It would be a shame to kill a Zoldyck, but the fight would be _fun_.

"Both of us?" Hisoka asked.

Kaido's gaze became uncertain for a moment as he looked at Luna, and Hisoka's hypothesis was confirmed. Kaido had no idea what Luna's capabilities were. But he had no doubt that Kaido was desperate enough to agree to any of Hisoka's terms, no matter how much the man tried to look like an impeccable picture of calm.

"Of course," Kaido said smoothly, as if he never considered anything else.

"Good," Hisoka purred, his smile growing just a tad. "We accept."


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Thanks for favoriting/following-Gothgirl252, evangel3717, Helga27, hina lover 1010. Thank you to all the readers lurking in the bushes too :)

Originally I had wanted them to stay at Heaven's Arena and for Orion to keep training and fighting there. But that would get boring really quickly...

laxusdrayer2324: Floor Masters need to be taken down a notch or two, or their heads will get bloated :P. Luna really doesn't mind people underestimating her. Assassins are supposed to be invisible after all, and I think she's more miffed that people notice her than anything else. But at least if they notice and underestimate her, it makes things easy!

AllyKat15: Thank you!

BloodySliver: Don't worry-usually fast updates :) And I think my plan for this arc might be interesting.

* * *

Luna glanced around, utterly unimpressed. One glance at Hisoka told her he was thinking the same way. Kaido was obviously taking them through the long route around his mansion, trying to show off his wealth and taste.

Also quite obvious that the business man failed to research either of two he hired. Hisoka, having been a member of the Ryoudan for a year, had been in and _robbed clean_ several places even more awe inspiring than this. And Luna practically lived in a palace her whole life. The Valdis estates were around the same size of the Zoldycks', and her family liked Roman architecture so much that their home was built like a Roman palace. Needless to say, Kaido's mansion paled drastically in comparison.

It didn't help that the man was obviously narcissistic, with statues and portraits of him posted all over the mansion. He was good looking. But thirty seven statues and seventy nine portraits? That was a little extreme, wasn't it? They portrayed the man in every pose and circumstance possible. Obviously the man was not married. A woman would take a single look inside his mansion and run away screaming. For a moment, Luna sadistically wondered, if she gave Kaido to Feitan and the Spider tortured him, would Kaido have someone paint a portrait of the event?

"Chibi-chan, your bloodlust is leaking," Hisoka murmured, the smile on his face less forced than it was before.

She blinked in surprise, before clamping down on it like a good assassin. Hisoka grinned. There wasn't much that could make her leak bloodlust like that, and for her to do it accidentally must mean his Luna was _peeved_. His tongue flicked out over his lips. Her nen was just so _delicious_ with bloodlust. Even more so than usual. Hisoka was more than a little disappointed that she had hidden it again. It wasn't like Kaido would notice—the man hadn't so much as blinked, which confirmed Hisoka's suspicion that most humans were too stupid to sense their impending death—so couldn't she let him taste that addicting nen again?

Finally, _finally_ , they entered the man's office. Over their tour the two had sensed guards hidden, so perhaps it wasn't as useless all that useless. Their little walk let the guards see that these two were going to be joining them, and Luna knew they wouldn't be forgetting the pair any time soon. Hisoka, especially, was eccentric enough to be an unforgettable sight. And once they saw the pair fight… Well, they would see Hisoka fight. As for Luna, all they would see is a splatter of crimson and a falling corpse, usually only with a gaping hole for a throat and no other injury.

If they survived, that was.

From what Luna could surmise, none of them knew nen. That usually meant they would be completely _useless_ in a fight against anyone who was even a little strong. It also meant Hisoka would be completely uninterested in any person the guards could kill. She already knew that he wouldn't move unless he felt someone worth killing, even if it meant Kaido would be angry at Hisoka's lack of action.

But, well, if she knew Kaido's type, the more of his hired cannon fodder that were killed, the less money he would have to pay. In the end, he may even send cheap hired killers after Hisoka and Luna just so he wouldn't have to pay the exorbitant price written on the contract he had just placed in front of them.

"So? What do you say?" Kaido asked, trying to hide the glimmer of desperation in his eyes.

"Why not?" Luna sighed. She already knew that she would probably be killing more people than Hisoka.

"Fine," Hisoka echoed.

The desperation faded, replaced by relief as the two signed, thus sealing the deal.

"Good. I will have someone show you to your rooms," Kaido said briskly.

He rang a bell, and mere seconds later a maid knocked at the door, bowing respectfully when Kaido gave her permission to enter. Luna could only marvel at how well trained the maids were, and concluded that their salaries did the trick. Money solved most of the problems in the world.

"Right this way, please," the maid said meekly, never once meeting their eyes. As they walked down the long hallways, the woman asked, "If I may be so bold, may I ask what your names are?"

Hisoka pursed his lips, but didn't answer. He did _not_ like weak people, and weak people subservient to weak people got no attention from him whatsoever. Even if they were trying to kill him, he wouldn't spare them a single glance as he slit their throats and walked past like he was in a park looking at roses.

"Hisoka," Luna said, gesturing to the man. "I'm Luna."

"Master Hisoka and Mistress Luna," the maid nodded, committing the names to memory.

Luna had no doubt that the word would spread, and within ten minutes all the servants would know their names. It would be useless to tell them not to use formalities.

" _Master_ , hmm?" Hisoka hummed, smirking as he stared down at Luna.

"I won't call you that," she said automatically, making Hisoka's face fall comically.

"But Chibi-chan~"

She smiled sweetly, a look that sent shivers down Hisoka's spine. "Yes, honeypoop?"

"Never mind," Hisoka said quickly, and turned away sulking.

The smile dropped from Luna's face as if it had never been there, and she mentally scrubbed her brain down for actually using that disgusting word. 'Honeypoop'? Really? But it was the most vile endearment she had ever heard—she was quite sure the shocked look on the woman's face when her boyfriend called her that meant the two broke up a few minutes later—and Luna was glad it turned Hisoka off like a bed ridden, chronically sick person who had never in their life had even a minute's worth of training.

"Are animals allowed in here?" Luna asked.

The maid almost jumped, glancing back at the girl fearfully, before nodding. "Yes, mistress. As long as they remain out of Master's way…"

Luna nodded, and instead of continuing to follow the maid, she moved to an oversized window—was that man really afraid of being assassinated? Because giant windows were overly easy entry points—and let out an ear piercing whistle. The maid jumped at the noise and stopped in her tracks, sending the girl a bewildered look. She had expected the girl to continue following her and later remove a cute little mouse or something from where it hid inside her clothes. She had not expected a giant panther with a dragon's tail and overly large incisors to burst through the open window.

His eyes widened, his paws slipping and scrambling on the floor tiles for a moment before he crashed face first into the wall. He let out a mewl of pain and embarrassment before glancing sheepishly at a very unamused Luna. His ears flopped down, his tail dragging across the floor. For a giant cat, he knew how to make adorable expressions.

Luna sighed and shook her head, and gestured for the cat to follow. His mood, of course, immediately perked up. But the maid's mood dropped to the pits of Tartarus. She was already terrified out of her skin by the peculiar man with perverted eyes and sharp nails and all those dangerous looking men hanging around. She was less so of the pale doll-like girl, but the cat's entry changed that. Anybody who could tame something like _that_ could not be normal.

… Unless the cat belonged to the man?

The maid shot a hopeful glance at Hisoka, but he only watched the girl and cat with disinterest, and the moment Luna ordered Orion to follow them and _behave_ , with the cat obeying her cheerfully, the maid could only let out a small, inaudible, forlorn sigh.


	28. Chapter 28

Humans, Luna concluded, must be the _stupidest_ mammals on the planet. Hell, she's even seen _spiders_ smarter than humans—no offence to the Ryoudan—even if they were not mammals but arachnids. The more people she met, the more she lost hope in humanity. Humans always fit into certain categories: weaklings, idiots, weak idiots, strong idiots, strong and smart people (as rare a case as Shizuku not forgetting someone, she would assure you), and the people she associated with—the _utterly insane and deranged_ people that normal humans would not want to go anywhere near ten miles of them.

One week. Luna supposed a week of peace she could have managed in this boring place. For a man with a mountain of money—supposedly, of course—he had too little to entertain a person in the mansion. Perhaps the businessman only needed work and the idea of making even more money, and the servants only needed to do their chores. Kaido hired the minimal number of people needed to keep his place immaculately clean. The number of cooks totalled one. The number of maids totalled five. Even an idiot knew that wasn't enough people to clean the whole place every day and still have time to relax. They only had time to scrub down one floor and dump everything into the laundry, eat a quick lunch, clean the windows, hang the laundry to dry, and clean another floor before dinner. After that, any normal person who wouldn't be too exhausted to even move was already amazing.

For a moment, Luna wondered if Hisoka realized that the maids working in the mansion could put up a better fight than most of the guards around. They were so used to the cleaning tools that the broom and mop were extensions of their arms and legs, and there were more than a few definite muscles under the maid dresses. She figured he didn't, though, because their subservient attitude and show of meek politeness made his attention bounce off them like a mirror reflected light.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the large number of guards Kaido had hired were bored out of their minds, and looking for entertainment. Some had harassed the maids, only to find them a little more deadly than they originally expected, so resorted to the cute fragile girl the clown brought with him.

Sure, she was a little young, but she _should_ be old enough that they wouldn't be considered pedophiles… right? After all, she was sleeping with the clown… right?

Luna should have expected it. In fact, she _did_ expect it.

That didn't change the fact that she was _not_ amused at all with the situation. Was it too much to ask to get a glass of warm milk for herself and a saucer full for her cat before bed? But no, apparently walking alone through the pointlessly long and tasteless hallways meant a perfect opportunity to jump the girl.

For six large, burly men to surround Luna and thinking she was easy prey even though she was emitting enough bloodlust to scare most fighters in Heaven's Arena… Well, that only confirmed that their brains were as small as their muscles were big. In other words, their brains were smaller than that of a goldfish. Their skulls had to be filled with either muscle or dark matter rather than brain mass.

She was currently leaning towards dark matter—hypothetical substance, very little visible, things can go straight through with little distortion, and most of all, a mystery. Meaning there may or may not be anything in their heads—any theory that says there was was all hypothetical.

"What's a little girl like you doing in a place like this?" One of the men leered.

"Aaah. I'm so scared. Someone please help me. There are big scary men surrounding me," Luna said, voice as monotone as her face was blank. As an afterthought, she added for good measure, "Aaah."

If she listened closely, she could hear snickers and whuffs of laughter, courtesy of Hisoka and Orion.

Well. She was happy to be their source of amusement. Luna's eyes flicked to the wall where her partner and cat were hiding, and sent them a very unamused look. She could swear that after seeing her expression, it was taking all of Hisoka's willpower not to burst out into giggles.

"Aww, don't say that. We'll take good care of you, won't we?" A man cooed.

The snickers stopped, replaced by sickeningly sweet nen _saturated_ with bloodlust. Luna sucked in a breath, and immediately her own bloodlust disappeared, lest it fuel Hisoka's sudden bad mood.

Did she ever mention Hisoka was possessive?

Luna was his toy. She knew he considered her that. He wanted to fight and kill her. But while he knew these men were too weak to even lay a finger on her, she apparently had become his toy in bed as well, and any hint of other men wanting the same thing from her would anger him.

She rolled her eyes discreetly. It was just sex. It wasn't like she would refuse him even if she slept with other men—she wouldn't, of course. She just wasn't interested. Hisoka was the only exception, in spite of all the unneeded and unwanted wounds all over her body afterwards.

For a man with a genius level IQ and enough power to be a threat to the Hunter's Association, he was a possessive, insane, deranged, psychopathic idiot.

On second thought, that was kind of cute, really. Who else would stalk someone for years and kill everyone who tried to kill that someone just because they were interested in fighting them?

"Will you," Luna muttered.

"Of course we will. We'll even be gentle."

"Alright. We'll play with you," Luna said.

She could practically feel Hisoka stiffen, his golden eyes shifting to glare at her, his expression torn between incredulous and angry.

"Orion, come play. No mutilations and no deaths though," Luna called out.

The men furrowed their brows, none of them with a clue as to what she was saying. But when the kitten bounded out from behind the wall, tail waving happily at the prospect of a game, they understood. It was almost amusing to watch their faces contort in terror, but they were so weak that it was no fun at all.

"Catch the raindrops," Luna said.

That was a go signal. She left Orion and the screaming men, and when she turned the corner, Hisoka stood with his normal smile once again.

"Raindrops?"

"Brainless, weak, and useless, but add enough of them and they get annoying yet useful in some ways. Like watering crops and stuff," Luna shrugged. "Still, pretty useless individually, or even in small quantities."

Hisoka's lips twitched in amusement. His eyes turned back to Orion, noting that the cat was going way too easy on the men, not even using his nen. The kitten pounced on one, barely shredding a few inches of skin before chasing the one who ran the farthest and clawing him a little. The game continued until the men were a sobbing, bloody mess curled on the floor crying for their daddies to save them.

Luna frowned, feeling a little pity. No, not for the men. For the maids who would have to clean up the filthy mess they made all over the marble floor. On the bright side, at least it wasn't carpet, or the blood stains would have ruined it, and Kaido would have thrown a fit.

Orion paused, a single claw extended as he cocked his head, waiting for someone to run. But when nobody even moved, all of them playing dead for fear of the panteron, he sighed heavily and slunk back to Luna, whining. It was only fun for the first thirty seconds. Then it got really boring.

And he thought the idiots in the Heaven's Arena were weak.

"There are even weaker people," Luna said sagely. Then cocked her head, adding as an afterthought, "But you can't really tell the difference between weaklings and weaker weaklings. All die in under a second if you attack physically, and if you pressure them with even a little nen, they kind of… _implode_ after a few seconds. I suggest you don't do it if you don't want a bath."

Orion meowed. He would listen to that piece of advice. No baths.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: foreverellen, thanks for adding my story to your favorites and following :)

laxusdrayer2324: Kouhai-chan, thank _you_ for reviewing all the time XD. Poor Luna is Hisoka's source of amusement. Orion, on the other hand, probably wouldn't laugh if he knew she could hear. And don't worry. If they don't do anything about their bloodlust, the next few chapters would be boring.

* * *

Exactly how long was their contract supposed to last? A month? Two? Half a year? Because Luna was quite sure that Hisoka wanted to leave, and to kill their employer on his way out.

Kaido wasn't happy with Hisoka either, since he hadn't participated in any of the fights. It was like he was paying Hisoka to sit around and do nothing, even if the employer hadn't paid either of them a single cent yet.

Kaido had promised them plenty of strong people to kill. And yet not a single person had attacked Kaido's mansion in the six and a half months they had been there. Well, technically there had been a bunch of people, but considering that the normal guards dealt with them easily, those did not count. Luna usually could entertain herself with training her own body and training Orion, but with Hisoka sending her undecipherable looks, she felt more and more on edge as time passed.

Currently she could not tell if he wanted to bed her or fight her, and that was a problem. With his mind torn between the two ideas, he was more likely to _combine_ them and put her in a lot of pain. Don't get her wrong, she didn't mind pain, and had a high tolerance compared to most of the human population. However getting injured for fun was not her idea of a good time.

With a slight frown and no smile on his face, Hisoka go to his feet and moved towards the door. Orion's head shot up in alarm at the scent Hisoka radiated, and Luna shifted with a miniscule frown.

"Hisoka?"

"Kaido," Hisoka replied vaguely.

Her suspicions were confirmed. Luna quickly got to her feet to chase after the Joker. Even if she didn't know what he was going to do, or even whether she was going to stop him or help him, she felt like she at least needed to follow just in case she needed to do something.

It took Luna a few moments of trailing after Hisoka to realize that lazy cat had gone back to sleep in their room, and had opted out of following them. Her frown deepened. Once she got access to a computer, she needed to do some research on the panteron. Until now she had been treating Orion like a predatory cat—feeding him meat, fish, and milk—and training him in nen. But panterons, if she was correct, were also part dragon. She needed to see if they needed as much sleep as Orion seemed to want, or if he was just being lazy.

But she didn't have much time to ponder the issue, because Hisoka halted for a moment, cocking his head at the door as if deciding between bursting in and killing everyone, or trying to talk first.

By the time Luna bumped into his back, so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed him stop, he had decided.

Hisoka didn't even spare a glance at the two guards by Kaido's door before he barged into his office without knocking. Kaido jumped at the noise, his eyes wide. The guards, suddenly realizing what Hisoka had done, took a few steps towards Hisoka with menacing expressions on their faces, only to be completely ignored.

Needless to say, nobody except Hisoka noticed Luna's presence.

"Hisoka? What?" Kaido asked, more irritated than anything else at the interruption.

He had been in the middle of paperwork, and it was impossible to concentrate even in the quiet. He had no doubt that after Hisoka said what he came to say, Kaido's ability to concentrate would plummet further, probably even disappear. Yet, the man didn't look like he would leave anytime soon, so reluctantly Kaido set down his pen and sighed.

"What is it?" Kaido asked.

"I'm bored," Hisoka shrugged, a small smile on his relaxed expression.

Luna tensed. She saw the menacing glint in the golden eyes that were slightly too narrowed, the tightness of his smile, the flash of white dancing through Hisoka's fingers. But Kaido didn't notice, couldn't tell the difference between Hisoka's smiles. All he saw was a petulant child looking for attention or new toys, and it further annoyed him.

"Find entertainment, then," Kaido said dismissively.

The businessman turned back to his paperwork, thinking the clear dismissal would be enough to make Hisoka turn on his heel and leave like all his maids and other guards did, but when he peeked up again, the man still stood there, now with a hand on his hip. Kaido raised an eyebrow at the red haired jester. The smile had vanished from Hisoka's face.

"You said there would be strong opponents," Hisoka said, his voice quiet. " _Find me one_."

Kaido jolted, eyes widening. For the first time he felt terrified of the man he recruited from Heaven's Arena. He had the feeling that the contract wasn't enough, that the man didn't care about the amount of money Kaido could offer. He could offer Hisoka everything he owned, and Hisoka would still walk away. Worse yet, Hisoka would probably kill him for failing to keep him entertained.

The businessman's eyes, for the first time, flicked towards Luna and actually _saw_ her. His lips pressed tightly together. She was Hisoka's bed mate, girlfriend, whore, _something_ , right? Why couldn't _she_ entertain him? That was the only reason he allowed Hisoka to bring her along.

Kaido glanced back down at his paperwork, and put down his pen for the final time that day. He wouldn't get any more work done. He drummed his fingers on the table, a frown creasing his forehead. He _had_ promised Hisoka strong opponents. And since none had come, he had to _find_ strong opponents.

And then it hit him.

It had been a long time since Kaido had entered that establishment. Years ago he had been young and newly rich, willing to spend money on frivolities. Only when the full weight of the responsibilities that came with owning a corporation hit him did he finally settle down to work seriously and begin to earn more and more money. He worked like a madman, it got him to where he was today, and he wasn't going to stop any time soon. He would not even allow death to get in his way, which was why he hired Hisoka.

That move would become the biggest mistake of his life if he didn't do something to remove the peeved look from the magician's face.

"There is a place similar to Heaven's Arena, but at the same time, quite different," Kaido began. Hisoka didn't smile, didn't relax. But an eyebrow rose slightly, enough for Kaido to gain some confidence and continue, "Have you heard of underground fight clubs?"

"They belong to the mafia, and only exclusive members are allowed to enter," Hisoka answered.

Luna raised an eyebrow. If she knew Hisoka he had probably participated a few times. For him to still be interested, it meant the fighters there were of a decent level. Or he could have been so bored that he needed some blood, any blood.

She almost pouted. He could have gone to her before his bloodlust got to that stage. She would have fought him, even if the first time she had done so resulted in multiple broken bones and several new scars. Out of the five scars she now had on her body, only the two on her back were from her childhood, a mission that had gone wrong. The other three were from Hisoka.

But she had no doubt that if he _had_ fought her, considering that he had gotten no action in over six months, he would not have left it at broken bones and gaping wounds. He would have killed her. The thought made her feel sick. It wasn't the idea of dying, even at Hisoka's hands. Assassins, hunters, and the Ryoudan all lived with one foot in the grave. She was taught to think of herself as a living dead person, and not to fear death since she was friends with it. No, what made her feel sick was how much _weaker_ she was compared to Hisoka.

"I can get you in," Kaido said.

"Oh?" Hisoka all but purred, his lips curling upwards.

"I have a membership in a nearby club. They advertise powerful opponents, including hunters who have lost their license," Kaido said.

Hisoka's chest rumbled in a low chuckle. "Then we go there."

"Of course," Kaido said smoothly, as if everything was his idea. "Shall we?"


	30. Chapter 30

Luna had no idea how this was different from floor two hundred and above in Heaven's Arena. Yet, it meant this place was perfect for Hisoka. It felt like forever since they had sensed nen users aside from each other, and Hisoka was practically itching to get into a fight. Luna hesitated for only a second before she reached up and grabbed Hisoka's wrist bands, carefully avoiding touching skin.

Hisoka paused for a moment, glancing down at her in surprise, but she didn't look up, didn't meet his gaze. _How cute_ was the only thing that ran through his mind during the moment he studied her, and when his attention reverted back to his surroundings, Hisoka was surprised to find himself a lot calmer, his bloodlust dying down to a tolerable level.

His gaze flicked back to the girl, and his lips pursed. She had done this before, he realized. For a man who loved manipulating people and hated being manipulated, he was alarmed. He honestly didn't mind her manipulating his mood like this, and that sent his mind reeling. If she could control him like that, she was dangerous, more so than he originally thought.

But…

Hisoka frowned. She didn't seem to be manipulating him on purpose, never used him without giving something in return. It was annoying, yet delectable. In fact, despite being tainted through and through, she was still too innocent. Did that mean he didn't have to kill her yet?

Her hand tugged at the band, and Hisoka looked down to see that she had stopped. He followed suit, just in time to avoid walking into Kaido's back. For the first time, blue eyes shifted up to meet gold, and Luna cocked her head, curious as to why Hisoka was studying her so intently. The man only shrugged with a small undecipherable smile, and turned his attention back to reality.

Really, she was too dangerous.

"Those two?" The guard at the door said, eyeing Hisoka suspiciously. His gaze passed over Luna completely.

"He will be my champion," Kaido said impatiently.

"Of course," the guard said, and opened the door, allowing just enough room for the five—Hisoka, Luna, Kaido, and two guards—to pass.

Intimidation tactics, and cheap ones at that. Luna slipped by without making contact with the guard, always keeping a hand on Hisoka, preventing him from using the man in a disappearing trick. Hisoka pouted, but shrugged it off. He wasn't there to fight the guard, and doing so would probably result in getting kicked out.

The moment they walked in, they were faced with a high class bar. A live band played soft jazz in the low lighting, obviously rich people engaged in conversation as they sipped from crystal glasses. The walls were crimson and black, and Luna found herself liking the place as much as Hisoka did. Its mood was perfect, and out of the corner of her eyes, she could see several people who would become potential targets for assassination.

But of course, the group of five walked straight through to the door at the back, and without a word, they passed through. What met them on the other side of the tunnel was drastically different.

No music played, but there might as well have been heavy metal blaring from speakers. Shouts of effort and screams of pain rang up from the three arenas in the large room, with cheers and boos from the audience accentuating the noise. Luna's fingers tightened on Hisoka's wrist band, but not on purpose, and not to keep him under control. It was from distaste. This was a place where the worst sides of humanity were put on full display.

Not only were the fighters in the arena brutally tearing each other apart, but the audience, too, was enjoying it and cheering it on. In fact, they _paid_ for such entertainment, and gambled on the outcome. And it seemed that the more blood and gore, the more they cheered. It was like the gladiators come to life again, with much less honour and glory to be won.

Add Hisoka to the mix, and the place would be drowned in a sea of blood.

Kaido spoke to a man, and all of a sudden Hisoka disappeared from Luna's side. He followed the man to the basement waiting rooms, where he would be in that night's A block. He walked into the room, so much like a cold hospital room, but without the bed and equipment. All it had were benches where waiting contestants were already seated, and only the cold tile floor was left open.

Hisoka glanced impassively over the group, mentally rating them, and hoping that by the end of the night, he would find an opponent more worthy than this bunch. And with that thought, he moved to a corner where he began to build a card tower, waiting for his turn. As the seconds ticked by, he found himself wanting Luna to be there. Her presence would provide some entertainment, and if she became his opponent, she would provide an interesting fight.

"Tch. Only weaklings are left," one of the fighters sneered. "A girly boy, a stick, and a faggot clown."

Hisoka glanced up, and losing interest immediately, returned to his cards. Ironically the speaker was the weakest one in the room, and the girly boy the strongest. After Hisoka, of course, and even then the boy couldn't compare to the Joker's strength.

Apparently, the speaker didn't like being ignored by everyone, so he continued, "This is going to be so easy. I wonder which one I want to fight more, the faggot, or the girl?"

Silence.

The man growled and stormed over to Hisoka, kicking over the card tower. Wrong move. Hisoka glared up at the man, smile disappearing. It was bad enough that there were no strong opponents in A block, but this _idiot_ had to come and _knock down Hisoka's card tower_. That was taboo.

" _You_ ," Hisoka began.

Lucky for the man who incurred Hisoka's wrath, the door opened. The staff stuck his head in, and glanced at the four remaining men in the room. The man—or boy, actually, he was a little too young—glanced down at the card in his hand.

"Hisoka and… Afgrahiton," the boy said, stumbling over the name.

The stick man stood, and glanced at Hisoka before following the boy out of the room. Hisoka gave a menacing little half smile at the man who knocked over his cards. A lucky break for that idiot, perhaps.

The moment Hisoka and Afgrahiton stepped into the arena, a burst of cheers and boos washed over him, and he felt himself grinning. The mood was enough like the Heaven's Arena that he could already feel his bloodlust dissipate to a controllable level, where he would not outright kill his opponent. Luna watching from above didn't hurt either.

"Block A match begin!" The announcer shouted, and jumped out of the way.

Hisoka lifted a hand and curled a finger in a come hither motion, and the stick man narrowed his eyes. Still, he charged, moving faster than Hisoka expected him to. Not fast enough. A thin whip swung out, and right before it hit, split into nine different sections. Hisoka's eyes widened in delight as his arms moved in a blur, deflecting every single one of the whip's tails.

He was delighted to see blood where one scratched by him.

Afgrahiton controlled each whip tail like it was a separate weapon, lashing out at Hisoka from every direction. Hisoka didn't go on the offensive, instead forcing himself to stick to defense. It was a pleasant surprise. But still, the opponent wasn't good enough. Not near good enough to be Hisoka's opponent.

Hisoka shaved at the whips with his cards, slowly cutting through the tails. And with one final, powerful lash of the whip, it fell into pieces, the leather raining down like confetti. Afgrahiton's eyes widened in shock. Hisoka's wrists flicked. Afgrahiton fell, blood pooling from the wounds inflicted by Hisoka's playing cards.

The crowd roared.

Hisoka's golden eyes searched the throng of people for blue and black, and his eyes met hers like magnets drawn to each other. Hisoka smiled a cat-like smile, and Luna gave him a miniscule nod.

Through the entire match, Hisoka never moved a single step.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Sorry for the delay... Chapters 31 through 34 are going to be difficult to write.

* * *

The opponent was already wary of Hisoka, having watched the man's previous matches that night. It wasn't uncommon for strong fighters to participate in the Club, considering that former hunters would act as someone's champion to earn their keep, but a fighter of Hisoka's calibre was rare, and frightening. They usually did not stay long, which was a good thing, but while they were still in the tournament, they killed every opponent they came across.

And Hisoka's current opponent, the long time champion Rafka, knew he would die this night.

Still, it didn't mean he wouldn't put up a good fight, and hope Hisoka would spare his life. A possibility was a possibility, no matter how small. He backed away, eyes trained on the Joker shuffling cards with a light smile on his face. From his observations, Hisoka was unlikely to attack first. If Rafka didn't move, Hisoka would stand there playing with his cards all night.

Rafka quickly calculated his chances, even as he searched in vain for an opening or weak point. He found none, of course. He had observed Hisoka's matches from the very first one, and the moment he ended his first fight, Rafka knew the man was one to watch. Of course, it also meant Rafka had been searching for the man's fighting patterns and weak points ever since that first match, and since he hadn't found one throughout the night, it wasn't likely that he would find one while Hisoka shuffled his deck.

He made his first move. Hisoka watched with budding interest as Rafka's nen turned into a gel. So his opponent was a transmutator, like Hisoka. That said a lot about the man's personality. But how far he would get depended on whether he used his nen ability well.

Hisoka shuffled the deck once more, and picked out a random card. A three of clubs. His interest immediately faded. So this man was nothing much. If he had gotten an interesting card, Hisoka might feel a little more interest. Luna had been an ace of spades, Chrollo the same. Illumi was a king, Kaspar a jack. His cards were quite accurate when it came to things like this, and Hisoka used them to determine whether or not to let an opponent live.

Of course, if they sparked his interest, he would disregard the cards. Yet not once had his cards been wrong. And a three of clubs meant a fighter of his opponent's level could be found _anywhere_.

Hisoka easily blocked a hard kick and deflected a fist, noting with a little disgust that the slimy nen was slithering around him. Rafka's eyes narrowed. Hisoka was taking him too lightly.

Suddenly Rafka retreated, Hisoka's bored gaze following him. The joker could still feel the slime on him, and wrinkled his nose in disgust. He would have to take a shower or two after this if he wanted to get the feeling off. And Rafka smirked.

Hisoka barely had time to react when the nen on him exploded, heat and pain barrelling through him. Hisoka's back arched a little too far back before he hunched over, as if defeated. Rafka approached cautiously. Hisoka's face, hidden by his posture, split into a wide grin. He could feel the blood dripping down his back. It was almost enough to make him want to spare his opponent's life. Almost.

His shoulders shook. Rafka paused in alarm, and started backing away. Too late. Hisoka's cards flicked out, burying themselves in Rafka's legs, slicing through muscle and tendons. The man let out a choked scream as he fell to his knees. With his eyes wide in terror, he scrambled for purchase as he crawled away, barely increasing the distance between himself and the psychopathic clown in his haste.

Hisoka's steps, on the other hand, ate up ground. Too quickly the shadow fell over the former champion. Hisoka didn't bother using nen, or using his cards. He simply reached down and snapped the man's neck, and kept squeezing until the skin burst in a shower of blood and shattered bone.

The crowd roared in delight.

"And the dark horse of tonight's tournament, Hisoka, wins the tournament!" The announcer shouted.

"Of course," Hisoka murmured, a half smirk playing on his lips. "Was there any doubt?"

He couldn't help but let out the jab at the disgusting lack of power in the fighters here, even if they couldn't hear. Nobody heard him, he knew. But the curl of his lips left no doubt about his absolute confidence, and dare they say it, arrogance. Still, he could practically see Luna rolling her eyes at that comment.

Speaking of the girl, she had to be quite bored, didn't she? After all, Hisoka was the only one who got to entertain himself. Then again, who could possibly be bored watching Hisoka fight? He was the picture of elegance and showiness, upping the entertainment factor of such boring fights by tenfold with a performance that bordered on fan service.

Hisoka pursed his lips. Did he _have_ any fans? He knew he scared the geese out of people, especially those who would soon be _facing_ him in a fight. But if he was talking about _fans_ , he really didn't think he would have any. It was more fun to make a show out of scaring people while decimating an opponent.

Well, at least _Luna_ was his fan… right?

Hisoka's smile faltered. She just _had_ to be his fan. Luna had followed him since they first met—Hisoka conveniently left out that he had stalked her for just as long—so it meant she had to be his fan, right? His narrowed eyes shot to where she stood in the audience.

Luna almost jumped when their eyes met, and she saw displeasure swimming in gold. She frowned as her body tensed. It was the natural reaction, really, when dealing with an unsmiling Hisoka. Even worse, she had no idea whatsoever what caused his sudden bad mood. For all she could tell, he was quite sated just a few seconds ago. Even the bloodlust in his nen had died down, most likely as a result of the newly installed blood stains that would take hours to remove from the arena, if it was even possible to remove them all.

She felt a shiver run up her spine at the only possible conclusion—Hisoka was displeased because of her. Not that she knew _why_. All she had done was stand there and watch his fights, and a few interesting ones in between. Her forehead creased as she gave herself a once over. Her nen appeared as amateurish as usual, and it was completely devoid of bloodlust. In fact, it was devoid of emotion as always, even though the boredom was threatening to ooze out like acrid liquid oozed from a punctured bile duct.

Luna started to back away to where Kaido was speaking with one of the business men he knew, either discussing work or making bets. He had bet on Hisoka, of course, considering that he had brought the man. Luna had no doubt that he made quite a bit of money this night, and if he could, he would bring Hisoka back again. However, it was unlikely that Hisoka would agree—the fights had been too easy for Hisoka to truly enjoy.

The girl's dark blue eyes traveled over the rich people in the room, observing. Smiles sat on all faces, whether or not they lost money, as they had enjoyed the little spectacle Hisoka had provided. It was disgusting. Humans were truly disgusting creatures, Luna thought. She didn't know any other creature that enjoyed pure chaos and destruction like humans did, no other creature as corrupt. Coming from an assassin, those words would probably sound hypocritical, but she really didn't care. She was an assassin because it was her job, and because she was good at it. She probably couldn't survive any other way. Those rich people, on the other hand, enjoyed _other_ people killing people, as if life and death were something to play with.

It was different from what Hisoka did. Hisoka fought for enjoyment. He knew what it was like to end someone's life, and he was prepared to die fighting a worthy opponent. It was a fair exchange, as there would always be someone stronger. Those filthy humans, on the other hand, refused to risk their lives, and refused to dirty their hands. That was what made them so despicable.

Unbeknownst to the girl, Hisoka's thoughts ran along the same lines. He was glad humans enjoyed watching blood sports, as it gave him chances to find and fight strong people, but it was disgusting that they neither dirtied their own hands nor went anywhere near the arena. They wanted the fun without the risk. And having those people cheering because he ended someone's life brutally made his hackles rise.

Without waiting for the announcer to finish speaking—what was _taking_ so long? Did the man memorize a five page essay or something—Hisoka used bungee gum to pull himself out of the arena and back into the guest area, all the rich people backing away from the blood soaked clown. Hisoka's golden eyes skimmed over the crowd to savour their reactions to his fight, but pretending that he was scanning for Luna.

Slowly, Hisoka ambled back towards where Kaido and Luna were. As usual, he could feel her nen even amongst the many auras in the room…

It vanished.

Hisoka's eyes widened minutely before narrowing, and he began pushing his way through the crowd. This wasn't zetsu. He could sense her even if she used that. And yet he sensed _nothing_.

Just like she had ceased to exist.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: alexc123, TabKinesis, thank you for adding to favorites/follows!

alexc123: I know! Hisoka's badass and cool, and it's only his funny sadism that puts him above Chrollo in my book. Just barely, though.

foreverellen: Thank you, and you're welcome. I hope their relationship continues to amuse you :)

BloodySliver: I was worried that this arc wouldn't be good. I'm glad you like it.

laxusdrayer2324: Hisoka has enough self control... I think... But yes, Hisoka did go a little crazy. He's about to go even crazier. And after reading your review, I think I have a plan for that annoying man *evil laugh*

* * *

Hisoka stormed up to Kaido, taking all the bodyguards by surprise. They shot out in front of Kaido, thinking to protect him from the enraged clown. But Hisoka was too many times stronger than them, and they were forced aside like they were nothing. They were torn between being displeased at his rough treatment and disregard of them, and feeling terrified that they were so _weak_ compared to him.

Kaido glanced up at Hisoka in surprise, suddenly finding the colourfully dressed man's height a bad thing. Hisoka wasn't that much taller than Kaido, yet he felt like a giant. And even the amateur who barely knew anything about nen could feel the tendrils start to suffocate him, the raw nen and the bloodlust forcing all thoughts out of his mind. He could only shudder at the thought of how it would feel to actually go against Hisoka as an opponent. Kaido had the feeling that he should commend all of Hisoka's opponents for having fought Hisoka without running away with their pants soiled.

" _Where is she_?" Hisoka hissed, the usual traces of mirth on his face all invisible.

Kaido opened his mouth, shut it, then his brows furrowed in confusion. Hisoka had been in a decent mood mere moments ago. "She's right over ther… Where is she?"

That was what Hisoka wanted to know. He continued to scowl at his employer, his mood dropping further with every moment that passed. He already knew she hadn't gone to the bathroom or anything like Kaido suggested, because _that wouldn't erase her nen_. The only thing that Hisoka knew for a fact would prevent him from sensing her presence was death, but he didn't think she would go down so easily. No, he _knew_ she wouldn't go down so easily.

But he had no doubt that something had somehow happened to her. She couldn't hide from him to save her life, but if someone's hatsu worked to conceal another person's presence… He didn't know why someone would take her, though. Sure, she was small and cute and looked weak and vulnerable, but she was just the opposite. Well, the weak and vulnerable part. Hisoka agreed that she was small and cute.

Alright, that wasn't the point.

Hisoka narrowed his eyes, no longer paying attention to Kaido. He already knew the man was too afraid of Hisoka to do anything to Luna, considering that he suspected Luna to be Hisoka's lover. That only left the people at the club. But who would be powerful enough to hide Luna from Hisoka? Better yet, who would be _stupid_ enough yet still strong enough to do such a thing?

Footsteps smooth, Hisoka practically stalked over to the arena, and jumped back in, surprising everyone. His eyes skimmed the shadows, and found the microphone. He tapped it twice, to note with satisfaction that it was still on.

"May I have your attention," Hisoka said loudly, voice smooth. He heard the audience murmur, then fall completely silent. It was probably the most quiet the place had ever been while people were still there. "My Chibi-chan seems to have disappeared. I suggest that whoever has her _give her back_."

Hisoka's voice dripped with malice, his tone promising certain death to _everyone_ if they didn't comply with his demands. It was with a hint of satisfaction that he heard the club erupt into murmurs with rising hints of panic. For stupid humans, even they understood that they would all die in a bloody massacre if Hisoka didn't get his 'Chibi-chan' back, whoever that was. He could see the audience glancing around. Hisoka supposed he should provide a description of the girl, and he sighed. Really, how troublesome.

"Black hair, dark blue eyes, pale skin, kind of short. She looks like a doll," Hisoka drawled. Confused murmurs. "The girl with Kaido."

Not surprisingly, that got a reaction. Hisoka didn't like that they thought Luna belonged to Kaido, but it didn't really matter right then. All he wanted was to _tear_ into whoever hid _his_ little toy from him.

Hisoka smiled. "Did I mention nobody is allowed to leave until I get her back?"

Panic rose. The rich people rushed towards the doors, hoping to make their escape before Hisoka killed them. Making a 'tsk' sound, Hisoka kept the smile on his face as he used bungee gum to race over their heads, arriving at the door before anyone else. Those at the front slid to a halt, forcing those behind to careen into them and send them either sprawling or stumbling towards Hisoka. Needless to say, they scrambled back immediately, uncertain expressions etched on their faces.

"Naughty, naughty. I said nobody is allowed to leave," Hisoka said teasingly, but his eyes didn't hold any of the same sentiments.

That was that. It became clear to everyone that Hisoka was serious—he would not allow _anybody_ to leave until the girl was found. Immediately all the pompous rich people ordered their bodyguards and servants to search, and the oh so helpful staff at the club joined in. After all, they had families to take care of, and couldn't afford to die. Literally.

Yet, their search was fruitless. Nobody could see any girl that fit Hisoka's description. The trickster grew increasingly agitated with each moment that passed without him being able to sense her. He _knew_ she wouldn't be defeated so easily. He wasn't worried. He wasn't.

So why did his heart beat so quickly?

Lost in his thoughts, Hisoka barely noticed someone walk up to him and stand a relatively safe distance away, simply watching and waiting for Hisoka to acknowledge his presence. It took a few moments, but Hisoka finally noticed. He didn't say anything. He merely studied the boy, frowning. He was sure he had seen the feminine boy before… His face was too familiar. After fruitless moments of observing, Hisoka gave up on guessing games and inclined his head, silently asking the boy to speak.

"I think I saw her," the boy said.

Hisoka's eyes narrowed.

"She was walking with someone," the boy continued, not at all fazed by the malice dripping from Hisoka's nen. "She looked… drugged or something."

"Impossible. Drugs don't work on her," Hisoka said flatly.

He didn't think the boy was lying. Otherwise the boy would no longer have a head. The only conclusion was that the boy had made a mistake, and Hisoka wasn't exactly in the mood to start killing people yet, because that would transform the searching people into a frantic mob. And while the bloodbath following would improve his mood the slightest bit, it really wasn't productive towards his search for Luna.

The boy hesitated. "So she _is_ Luna?"

Hisoka was on him in a heartbeat, fingers curling around the pale, slender throat, squeezing. The boy gasped for air in futility, nails scratching at Hisoka in his desperation to _breathe_.

"How do you know her name?" Hisoka said quietly.

The boy's mouth worked, but no sound came out. Hisoka squeezed a little harder to encourage the boy to speak. It was only after a few moments that Hisoka realized the boy _couldn't_ speak because Hisoka was crushing his throat. Hisoka stared uncomprehendingly for a few more seconds, before he forced his fingers apart, allowing the boy to drop, panting and gasping, to the floor.

Yet, the gaze that met Hisoka's eyes once again were not angry, or fearful. The dark blue eyes were blank, the boy's face an emotionless mask. Hisoka felt a sudden urge to coo at him and comfort him even as he teased the boy, and realizing what direction his mind was going, he pushed the urge back.

"Talk."


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: honeywinterbliss113, ZiellSchnitt, thank you for adding to follow/favorites!

BloodySliver: Thanks :)

foreverellen: Hisoka never called her by name out loud :P And since she had always been tiny compared to him, he just calls her 'Chibi-chan'

laxusdrayer2324: You'll find Luna here. But Hisoka really won't be happy with her... You'll find out who the boy is too. And remember that annoying man? He shows up again, and departs immediately, of course.

Sayonara One Piece: Hmmm... I don't know. From the beginning, Gon really annoyed me, and while I liked Killua to start with, he became a whipped Gon fanboy, and that really pissed me off. Originally I wanted twelve year old Luna to meet six year old Killua in Heaven's Arena, but after I watched the last few arcs, I wasn't so sure about that anymore. She will meet Kurapika and Illumi for sure, though.

Kasper the Friendly Ghost: Thank you! Love ya too :) I wouldn't say 'perfection', though :P It's really sad that there aren't many OC stories in Hunter x Hunter, especially for Hisoka. Even Chrollo has more OC stories than he does...

Zeila27: Thank you. Hisoka doesn't strike me as the type to be affectionate, and he wouldn't understand what 'worry' was if it bit him in the behind. So he just thinks he's possessive XD

* * *

" _Caw_!"

"Tch. Why do you want her anyways?" A man's voice scoffed.

"It isn't something someone like you would understand."

" _What?! I dare you to say that agai—_ "

Luna cocked her head as the furious voice was cut off by a choking sound. A fallout between companions? But she doubted it. It was more likely a hired weakling and his more powerful master, considering the utter disregard the second voice had for the owner of the first one. And speaking of the first speaker, he was probably choking to death.

" _Caw!_ "

Not that Luna cared, of course. She was only interested in one thing. Or more specifically, _two_ things.

" _Caw!_ "

It was a mystery how someone managed to get her underground, where there were no people except the two men and the assassin. Luna pondered the matter. She knew she was stronger than both people combined, even though the second speaker had quite a nen signature. If they had tried to kidnap her normally, she would have slit their throats and left their corpses on the floor. Yet, they had managed to grab her, blindfold her, and drag her somewhere.

Worse—or perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing—she couldn't feel Hisoka's presence. That could only mean he couldn't feel hers either, and knowing him, he would be tearing the place apart looking for his toy. It wasn't that he cared about _her_ , specifically. She already knew that. It was just possessiveness, as well as the fun of scaring everybody while creating a relatively large bloodbath. And since she didn't particularly care about anybody in the club, it meant it was fine for her to stay a while longer and humour her kidnappers, right?

"You are killing him. You do realize that, right?" Luna said. "Not that I care, but I do not like sharing my breathing space with a corpse."

"Ah, yes. It does seem like he is nearly dead," the man said.

Immediately Luna could hear something large fall onto the ground, hacking and gasping. She deduced that the man had stopped choking, and was desperately filling his body with oxygen. With his nen still winking in and out of existence, Luna wondered if he would die anyways.

"Would you like to remove my blindfold, or should I?" Luna asked.

"Go ahead," the man said, and as he watched her move her hands to slide the cloth off, he continued, "I suppose that if I had tried to touch you, I would no longer have a windpipe to breathe with."

"Correct."

Luna blinked twice, adjusting to the lights. It wasn't that bright, considering that there were only two lamps in the room. But after wearing a blindfold and seeing nothing but darkness, the faint glow seemed bright. They were in a relatively small room, compared to the club above. She could tell that they were underneath the building because she could hear the sounds throbbing above, causing the surrounding walls and ceiling to pulse.

She glanced passingly at the man on the floor. He was barely breathing, having choked on his saliva. She had seen him before—he was one of the two fighters after Hisoka, and he had fought the feminine boy who looked very familiar. He was a braggart, arrogant and weak. The type Hisoka really hated. She supposed he was lucky he hadn't gone up against the magician, considering that Hisoka would have ended his life in seconds. The boy had nearly killed him as it was, and it was a miracle he spared his life, after all the taunting. As Luna could already feel his nen dissipating and his heartbeat growing fainter and fainter, she knew he was very nearly dead.

Then her eyes turned to the man. He was around Hisoka's age, with an easy confidence in his eyes. However, he lacked the arrogance and slyness in his features that Hisoka had. He also looked familiar, despite her knowing for certain that she didn't know him personally. All in all, he was quite attractive.

Too bad he was her kidnapper.

"You wanted me for a reason," Luna stated.

"Straight to the point, I see," her captor chuckled. "I wish to hire you, Luna Valdis."

She stiffened briefly before relaxing. Ah, that answered the question about where she had seen him before. He had entered the Valdis estates once, several years ago, to hire her. She had done several jobs for him after that, but they had only met that once, in passing.

"For what?"

He smirked. "To close down this club, of course."

If she was surprised, she didn't show it. As an assassin, she already had a good idea about how she could go about the job. It didn't really matter to her that she was technically already under Kaido's pay. It was boring over there anyways, and since Hisoka had his fun, it was about time she got to play a little.

"And the payment?"

"Name your price," the man shrugged.

"I want them," Luna said immediately, eyes shooting over to the cage.

The man chuckled. "I thought so."

Luna eyed him suspiciously. She might just change her mind about him not being sneaky. It was a close thing, but she could sense the nen surrounding them, and she could already tell he was not a transmutator. They were inside a bubble of some sort, or a box, hiding their nen and their presence from the outside world. She hadn't known he had an ability like this, but it was interesting. She almost wanted it for herself—except her own conjuration was more practical.

"So you accept the job," he stated.

"Yes," she nodded, eyes once again glued to the pair of ravens. "But Hisoka needs to leave first. Kaido too."

"Oh?"

"This is _my_ job. I do not want anybody to interfere," her eyes turned once again back to the man whose name she did not know. "Besides, if Hisoka knew you kidnapped me, your head will be the first to roll."

The man's eyebrows shot up. He hadn't known she was that close to the magician. Kaido, perhaps, but not the magician. How… interesting. The psychopathic magician and emotionless assassin. He doubted they were partners in work, because she was skilled enough to get into any place silently, without notifying anyone. Hisoka would only draw attention, and that was always a bad thing for assassins. So were they lovers? He found that difficult to believe as well, because neither seemed like the type to love.

"If you call or message Hisoka, he would probably leave," the man commented.

Luna thought for a moment, then nodded. Whipping out her phone, she quickly typed in a message, and nodded. Send.

Above ground, still speaking with the girly boy he had met in the waiting room, Hisoka felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He paused for a moment, frowned, and flicked his phone open.

'I have been kidnapped, but there are a few birds I want. Go back with Kaido first. I will come after I get the birds.'

Hisoka's eye twitched in disbelief, and his teeth clenched. A tight, deadly smile grew on his face. The _idiot_ girl had _willingly_ gotten herself kidnapped just to get a few _birds_. He was going to _kill_ Luna when she got back.

"You. Come with me," Hisoka snapped.

Atlas, the feminine boy, nodded, wary yet unwilling to disobey the suddenly furious magician. He could feel the bloodthirsty nen radiating off Hisoka, and knew that the next person who so much as touched the man would lose their heads, and quite a bit more. Surprisingly, they moved to Kaido, and Hisoka barked a simple order to leave.

Kaido visibly hesitated at the prospect of obeying the orders of someone he considered lower than himself, yet he too feared Hisoka. Wordlessly, he nodded, gestured for his guards to follow, and walked out. The group left without a single person noticing, as everybody in the club continued to search for the girl.

Sitting in the car, with everybody silent around him for fear of initiating an attack, Hisoka tapped furiously at his phone, and pressed send.

'We are on our way back. You have until dawn.'


	34. Chapter 34

"I can do anything I want, correct?" Luna asked, pausing at the door.

"And I will be waiting here," the man nodded. Then realizing that she didn't know his name, added, "By the way, my name is—"

"I do not need to know. Assassins neither get close to their employers nor targets."

With that, she walked out, leaving a bemused man in the room, with only a corpse and two ravens for company. His eyes turned to the corpse. He should probably throw that out, and dump bleach over it. But he had the feeling he did not want to be upstairs when the Valdis prodigy began her work. So he sat back, eyes closed, and began to wait.

Luna flipped the hood over her head, pulling the cloak tighter around her body. It was dark enough in the club for her to blend into the shadows when wearing black, even if she didn't try. Her blades slipped into her hands, still hidden by cloth. However, she didn't start killing the moment she walked into the chaotic floor of the club. Instead, she moved through the throng of people like a shadow, sealing off every exit with a turn of the locks.

For a moment, she wondered if she could try and transmute her nen into heat, just to melt the metal. Conjuration and transmutation were next to each other on the chart, after all, so it would be possible to learn it without using too much 'memory'. Luna concentrated, frowning at her hand.

Transform… Transform… Trans—

…She would ask Hisoka about it later. For now, she simply sliced off the lock so nobody could get out. Then her eyes began scanning the crowd. She wouldn't kill _everyone_ , of course. She wasn't Hisoka. She would, however, kill everyone with a bounty.

Meaning everyone with a bodyguard, and all the fighters. Also, probably she would have to kill all the bodyguards just to get to their employers.

That was a lot of people…

But technically, that wasn't _everyone_. She would leave the staff alive, since they were just working for money. It wasn't easy to find a job, so it wasn't like people had a variety of choices, especially when they were so weak. Everyone else would die. Only keeping the staff alive made the task more difficult than killing everyone, but at least the staff wore a uniform easy to distinguish. Still, nobody would blame her if one or two got caught in the crossfire, right? Just because they wore red suits didn't mean they weren't wearing suits.

Luna sighed. It would be so much easier if the staff wore something bright and colourful, perhaps with pompoms on the heads. Then none of them would have to die by accident.

She turned and took a step forward, then another. Her knives flashed in all directions, and by the time she made it across the room, several corpses had already fallen to the floor, spreading a sticky pool of blood. The thumps drew no notice. And then someone tripped over a corpse. For a moment, everything was silent. Then an ear piercing scream rang through the air, drawing all activity to a complete halt. Everybody stared at the man before realizing that people were _dead_.

Panic rose.

Within moments, bodyguards were up in arms, surrounding their employers. It was all in vain, of course, and they found out seconds later, when they felt a blast of pain through their throats, before the view tilted sideways, and then they saw nothing more. Their masters followed within moments, expressions of terror etched on their faces, frozen there until the flesh decomposed.

The moment she finished the slaughter, Luna stood in the middle of the room, glancing around to see if there was anyone she missed. Her eyes slid over the cowering staff, each wondering if they would be the next to die. They didn't dare feel relieved that the assassin had not killed any of them yet, just in case it was leaving them for last. Yet she never made a single move towards them, and they started inching towards the doors, hoping to escape. She allowed them, of course. She had already conveniently forgotten that she had locked all the doors and destroyed said locks.

Luna sighed as she stared blankly at the corpses. It would have been useful if she had Shizuku's vacuum right about then. She could then suck up all the dead, carry the vacuum to the Hunters' Association, and dropped the mountain of corpses in the middle of the room and let them figure out who had a bounty and who didn't. But she didn't have it, nor did she have Shizuku conveniently on hand, so she had to manually go through the group.

…If she called a hunter over here to go through it with her, would she get in trouble for killing civilians as well?

She wasn't exactly one for risking that. Luna had already sated her bloodlust, so having to kill a hunter or two was just over the top. With another sigh, she called out to the staff.

"Y-yes?" One of them replied.

"Help me look for anybody with a bounty," Luna said. "All of you can't get out anyways, so might as well be productive."

She could see their eyes widen, feel their shock as their eyes shot to the door, only to find that she was right. They couldn't get out. But they swallowed their panic, knowing it would only irritate the assassin and increase their chances of dying by her hand. They thanked the gods that they weren't squeamish about blood and gore—they couldn't be, since they worked in a fight club, of all places—and sifted through the corpses. They pulled aside everyone they recognized from bounty posters and bulletins, and with so many people working at once, they quickly sifted the corpses into piles of 'blacklist' and 'insignificant'.

Luna almost attempted a smile. She knew that one should always smile when thanking people. It was just that she had never thanked anyone, so never needed to smile. The only time she had attempted such a thing was during the hunter exam, and that didn't end very well. So she merely nodded, kicked the door down, and told them to leave.

"But don't tell anyone about this, and tell your boss that if he doesn't shut the business down by tomorrow night, his neck is next," Luna finished.

They nodded, and they bolted.

Luna glanced at the small pile of 'insignificants', and saw no more than a dozen. Well, that simplified things. She merely shovelled them out the hidden door, sending them tumbling down to the underground room. They had the stupid arrogant man's corpse to deal with anyways, so she didn't see anything wrong with adding eleven or so corpses to the pile. Of course, she neglected to think of how shocked her employer would be.

Her eyes moved to the clock, and with satisfaction, noted that she still had several hours before the deadline Hisoka gave her. Therefore, she dialled the Hunter's Association and called for someone to collect the bounties. And to bring a wheelbarrow or two, of course.

It was with wide eyes that the deskwork hunter walked in, and jumped with surprise at the giant pile of dead bodies. He should have brought a wheelbarrow like the girl said. Then he shook his head at his stupidity. A wheelbarrow wouldn't be anywhere near enough. They needed a small truck.

"Well?" Luna said impatiently.

"Hunter licence, please," the man said nervously, already knowing that this girl was the one who managed something like this, even though he could see that her nen was not developed.

She handed it over, and the moment he confirmed it, he nodded. "Alright, we will send the money to your account. And since you were an unregistered hunter, I suppose this means you will become a blacklist hunter, correct? Good. I will add that to the database. I will send someone to collect the corpses later. Have a good day."

With that, the somewhat green hunter rushed out, and she could hear retching noises. Luna shook her head. A hunter really shouldn't be so weak to things like this. Compared to most deaths she had seen, this was already mild. The corpses only had gaping throats and a lot of blood. There were no innards, or bones, or anything else that would cause people to gag. Poor deskwork hunter, Luna sighed. He wouldn't last long at his job with that kind of weak stomach.

As it wasn't very appealing to listen to a man throw up all the contents of his stomach, Luna moved to the basement, only to come face to face with her somewhat annoyed employer. A head had landed on his own head, giving him a nice bump to remember the night by. Some people had really hard skulls…

"Payment?" Luna said, eyeing the birds.

The man sighed. She really saw nothing else when there were animals around. "Go ahead and take them. I will find you again when I have another job."

"Mm," Luna said.

The man shook his head in disbelief, and walked out. He needed aspirin for the growing headache. Luna, on the other hand, quickly unlocked the cage, cooing to the ravens. They watched her with intelligent eyes, and she almost smiled.

"Huginn and Muninn," she decided.


	35. Chapter 35

She gave the birds a few minutes to get used to her, to 'know' her. Unlike Orion, they took to her immediately, preening when she pet their feathers. They were clean, and she marvelled at their softness. Unconsciously, she felt her cheeks start to hurt, the muscles she normally didn't use straining to hold up the smile. She dropped the smile immediately, of course. Even if the birds didn't fear her smile, it was tiring.

So focused on the ravens she was that she didn't notice time slip by. It took the clock's chime to jolt her back to reality. Luna's eyes shot to the clock, and widened. One hour before dawn. She started running.

It was only when she got halfway back to Kaido's estates that she realized she was now a blacklist hunter. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't mind. It was much more interesting than all other forms of hunting, and with her occupation, she came across criminals more often than she came across, say, treasure. Luna highly doubted that the 'treasure' the Ryoudan plundered would count, since those had already been discovered.

But she did not live in normal circumstances. She was Chrollo's pet assassin, as much as she disliked the term 'pet' when referring to herself, which meant she spent a lot of her time with a group of the most wanted criminals in the world. Being a blacklist hunter was not ideal for such a situation. Chrollo probably wouldn't mind, Luna thought, but the rest of the Ryoudan would. Then she proceeded to think a little more. Actually, those she met probably wouldn't mind, considering that they had learned to trust her. Not as much as they trusted the rest of the Ryoudan, obviously, but since they usually didn't trust anybody, having even a smidgen of their trust said a lot. The only problem was the ones she had not met yet.

She almost walked into a wall. Luna stopped and looked up, a little surprised. Her feet had brought her to Kaido's estates, her body naturally following Hisoka's presence. It probably wasn't a good thing that she had a homing instinct towards Hisoka. Actually, since _when_ did she have a homing instinct?

" _Caw!_ "

The ravens sitting on her shoulders fluttered their wings, the glossy feathers hitting her on the side of the head. They were agitated, and becoming increasingly so. Huginn and Muninn would have taken off long ago—if they hadn't gotten the sense that the girl's shoulders were the safest places to be.

"Hisoka," Luna said.

Even she felt the urge to run now. Hisoka stalked over like a colourful predator, shoulders hunched and golden eyes trained on her form. The focus he had on her was terrifying, to say the least. Luna knew she was a top predator. But she wasn't an apex predator yet.

"Chibi-chan," Hisoka murmured, halting in front of her with a hand propped on his waist.

Luna gulped, but she didn't move. She stood with all her muscles clenched tightly, because she knew that if she loosened a single one, she would bolt. And if she tried to escape, Hisoka's urges would take over, and he would hunt her.

Hisoka smiled through clenched teeth, eyes blazing with wrath. A hand fell too heavily onto Luna's head in a mock pat, but she didn't react. She supposed she deserved that. Better than him tearing out her throat, she thought.

"You got yourself kidnapped," Hisoka said.

She nodded.

"And you _let_ yourself get kidnapped," Hisoka continued.

She hesitated, but nodded again.

"Because of _two birds_ ," Hisoka hissed.

She nodded a third time, peering up at him through her lashes. Luna felt like some child scolded by their parents for staying out late. Honestly, it had never happened to her, because her family was anything but normal. Still, she had seen such scenes, but never had she thought it would happen to her. Even if Hisoka was the furthest thing from her parent.

Hisoka with _children_. She shuddered at the thought.

"Chibi, do you _want_ to be punished?" Hisoka asked, voice low and hostile.

She shook her head frantically. Hisoka's bloodlust faded slightly, and the tension drained from his body. She almost relaxed. Almost. There was still a dangerous light in his eyes that made her wary.

"You belong to _me_ , Chibi-chan," Hisoka purred. "You're not allowed to let someone else kidnap you. _Do I need to carve my name on you_?"

She thought quickly. "I'll bite you."

"Hmm…"

"I'll bite you if you don't," Luna corrected.

Hisoka sighed dramatically before he pouted. "You drive a hard bargain."

"Well?" Luna asked with a tad of impatience.

"Deal," Hisoka said, a smile curling his lips. Then after a moment of silence, Hisoka raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Luna cocked her head, confused for a moment, before she realized what he was asking about. "I'm not going to bite you here!"

"In the room then?"

"In the room," Luna agreed quickly.

She barely had time to finish that last word before Hisoka's hand clamped down over her wrist and he dragged her inside, forcing her into an awkward half jog to keep up with his longer strides. If he was a normal person, she would be staring at him in disbelief. But he was _Hisoka_. He liked receiving pain as much as he liked inflicting it. Hisoka shoved her into the room, and with a bunt kick to Orion's rear, sent the yowling cat bolting out the door. The ravens, of course, had the brains to follow.

And they were alone. Hisoka stared expectantly at her, and her eyes roamed his body. Where in the world was she supposed to bite him? Not his hands, that was for sure. She had no idea where they had been and what they had been in, and that would be highly unhygienic. Luna wasn't fond of getting a mouth full of cloth either.

As if reading her mind, Hisoka stripped off his shirt. Luna's eyes widened just a little, and her heart skipped a beat. She mentally shook her head to get rid of those thoughts, and focused on finding a place to bite. Finally she settled on the shoulder. Her mouth would fit over the muscle, and she could bite down without causing too much damage. Hisoka wouldn't particularly care either way, but she did.

Hesitantly, she took a small step closer, and seeing that Hisoka did not intend to move, she moved close enough to feel his body heat. Luna didn't look, but she knew Hisoka was grinning, and a little further down, something was probably hardening at the prospect of pain.

Her tongue flicked out over warm flesh, marking the place she would bite. Hisoka's breath caught and a visible shudder ran through him. His hands twitched towards her, but he changed his mind and gripped the edge of the bed instead, as if reluctant to scare her away with a touch.

She bit.

Luna had no idea whatsoever what she was supposed to do now. Her teeth were clamped tightly enough that a single twitch would draw blood, and she could hear Hisoka panting next to her ear. Her eyes rolled downwards, scanning the bed and Hisoka's bare back. Was she supposed to move away now? But Hisoka's hands had snaked around her back and waist, holding her there. Luna shifted her leg back a little so the bulge was no longer touching her thigh, but the rest of her body couldn't move. Thus, with nothing to do, Luna's tongue reached out to tickle the flesh between her teeth, and Hisoka's nails dug into her back.

Finally her jaw started to ache, so she lifted her head and examined the teeth mark on the magician's pale shoulder. Blood spots appeared under the red and angry skin, which shone from her saliva. She could see the skin begin to smoke, the poison from her mouth burning the top layer. Even though her teeth were no longer connected to the man, he refused to let go. In fact, he seemed to be holding even tighter, his nails now uncomfortably close to piercing skin.

"Hisoka," Luna squirmed, trying to alleviate the discomfort. She was, for sure, not a masochist.

Hisoka's fingers relaxed, but his head tilted, and his lips found her neck. She stiffened. Was he going to bite…? But he wasn't as rough as she had been, and his teeth only nipped at flesh, the pain stinging but not unbearable. One hand moved lower while the other ran up her side, travelling to her chest to find the clasp of the cloak. With a small click, it slid off her frame to pool at her feet.

The magician pulled back to smirk at her, and that was the only warning she got before she was bodily thrown into the bed. Her eyes widened for a moment, before she realized what Hisoka wanted. She almost sighed. She really should have expected it. After fighting and sating his bloodlust, he had another lust he needed to deal with. Fighting excited him, after all.

Luna quickly stripped off her clothes. She didn't have many spares, and she did not need Hisoka shredding what she had. Hisoka watched her expose her skin, tongue travelling across his lower lip in satisfaction. With a flick of his fingers, he removed his pants and crawled on top of her, hovering for a moment. And without warning or preparation he thrust in, revelling in the sharp gasp of pain from the girl below him.

He took what he wanted.

He could find out how to make her scream in pleasure later.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Sorry for the updates slowing down! I've been really tired lately and have to fly back to Canada next week and... yeah. Sorry...

Thank you for adding the story to fave/follow: SeraphinaMarie22, bluebelle94, rayne-chan, weaseldale, Kasper the Friendly Ghost, lilmeika!

allykat: Thank you :)

Luminaaa: Wow. That's a lot of chapters to read! I'm glad you like it.

Zeila27: Thanks! Hisoka is a sadomasochist, I think. 

laxusdrayer: Huginn and Muninn, coincidentally (or not), are named after Odin's two ravens. The man wants the place closed down because it is mafia owned, and basically simple cruelty. Most clubs like that (and brothels and all other unsavory places) are probably owned by mafia in the Hunter x Hunter world. It's also the reason Hisoka finally gets to do some fighting later. And when isn't Hisoka a sadist ;) Haha! She really did all that for ravens! She completely ignored Hisoka and dropped her tag during the hunter exam just for Orion, so I think she would do something like this. She's just a sucker for animals. Or should I say she's a sucker for dangerous and unique animals? The ravens' names are kind of related to their roles too.

* * *

What did birds taste like?

Orion had no doubt that a mouthful of feathers wouldn't be pleasant, and the tough feet and claws and beak would be disgusting. Not to mention the eyeballs… He shuddered. Yet, as much as he imagined the nasty taste of raven, he couldn't fight the urge to snap them up in one gulp and swallow them whole.

The cat glared at the two birds preening on his mistress' shoulders, all the while sending him superior smirks.

Really. _He_ met Luna first. _He_ was the one who always tried hard just to impress her, or at least keep himself from disappointing her. Yet, when he woke up from his nap, there were two dinky little _birds_ stealing her attention. Orion was quite sure it was their nefarious plot to steal _his_ mistress away from him.

It was working too. She was almost _smiling_ , and he could almost see a glow of happiness surrounding the assassin as she played with the birds. Who played with birds anyways? Birds weren't good for anything except flying, eating, and pooping. Cats, on the other hand, were cuddly and playful and, in general, nice. Not birds. Cats.

The cat glared at the two ravens. They were deceiving his kind and wonderful and lovely mistress!

Orion let out a low rumble, his claws scraping softly across the floor. The area he had been scratching for the past few hours had gouges now, and honestly, he really didn't care that he was working his way through marble. Who made marble floors anyways? He certainly didn't care that it was expensive, or that the prissy man would throw a fit when he found out. He just wished it was the birds under his claws instead of the cold floor.

On another note, at least Hisoka didn't look too happy either. Orion glanced at the man only to see a finger tapping incessantly at the table and no smile on the face. Well, Orion thought, it was only to be expected. Luna had ignored everyone and everything in favour of playing with her new friends, and apart from the night she returned and Hisoka kicked Orion out, she had paid him no attention whatsoever.

Maybe Hisoka angered her that night? It wouldn't be the first time, even though Orion had seen his mistress get angry at Hisoka before. But he was sure it was a difficult task, because getting along nicely just came with being mates. After all, life was horrible if one didn't get along with their mate. It was a possibility that Hisoka had actually angered her and caused her to ignore him, but that didn't mean Luna would ignore Orion as well.

And honestly, Orion had no idea what happened that night. He wasn't really interested in sitting outside the door all night, and he was hungry after his short nap. Or perhaps it wasn't that short, since the girl had time to go out and collect two new pets to replace Orion in her affections, and to become saturated with the smell of blood. Still, sixteen hours was still a short nap, wasn't it?

Pondering that thought, Orion had ventured to the kitchen instead of waiting for his mistress to take pity and let him back in, and ransacked the pantry, consuming every last bit of meat he could reach. He ate the smelly yet yummy thing too, the hard yellow thing that tasted kind of like milk, yet smelled a hundred times worse and was really salty. He had then settled down for a good night's sleep, of course.

He hadn't minded the two ravens back then. They were just _there_ , strutting around on high surfaces and pecking at crumbs. Orion didn't even mind them grabbing and consuming the meat he couldn't reach. But if they tried to do the same thing now, _they_ would become meat.

"Chibi-chan," Hisoka finally said.

"Yes, Misora?"

Hisoka blinked, stunned. "Chibi-chan, who in the world is Misora?"

"Himitsu, Kasuka, whatever your name is," Luna said absently.

Hisoka growled, outright scowling at her. She forgot his _name_? That was the last straw. His poisonous glare shot over to the birds, his fingers twitching with the urge to wring their necks. And they had the _gall_ to smirk back at him! He was the human! He was the superior one! Yet those little balls of feather _dared_ mock him?!

"Ah… Hisoka," Luna said, as if suddenly recalling his name.

Hisoka debated between cooing at her for remembering, and snapping at the birds for having made her forget in the first place. In the end he had no time to do either before Luna stood and the birds flapped off to land on the bedside table. Immediately both Orion and Hisoka's eyes were trained on the two birds, golden eyes glinting with the desire to hunt.

"I'm going to get food," Luna said, suddenly feeling hunger now that her attention was no longer focused only on the birds. But at the doorway, she paused, frowned, and turned to glance at the two males. "And I want Huginn and Muninn alive and in one piece when I come back."

Hisoka's lips twitched. He had a few ideas about how to keep them in one piece. It involved cutting most of the way through flesh, and leaving the part hanging by threads of muscle and skin. Orion wasn't smart enough to think that far, of course, but he too had a few ideas about chewing on the balls of feather for a while, without biting too deep.

Luna's frown deepened at the looks on their faces, practically identical. Perhaps Orion had been spending too much time around Hisoka, to develop the same sadistic tendencies.

"Hisoka. Orion," Luna said, drawing their attention again. "I want them unharmed as well. No blood, no bruises, no cuts, no broken bones or broken _anything_. In fact, just don't touch them with anything. That includes projectiles."

Well, Hisoka mused, accidents could still happen…

"And no harming them accidentally on purpose either," Luna warned.

Thinking for a moment, she concluded that she had thought of everything, and left. Hisoka sat there pouting, Orion watching him carefully. Even if Orion didn't have any ideas, Hisoka should be able to find a loophole, right? Because the cat really wanted the birds gone, and he really didn't think opening the window to let them fly out would work.

"How foolish."

"I agree. Only idiots get flustered and jealous because two birds are stealing a girl's attention."

"Just because they are not interesting enough to hold her attention…"

Hisoka and Orion stared in disbelief at the ravens. Did they just _speak_? And not just the one or two words birds usually said. They spoke _fluently_ , all the while badmouthing them! Hisoka smiled pleasantly, the smile almost a mirror of Chrollo's when the Ryoudan leader was displeased, except with a tad more bloodlust and sadism.

"You know, Luna really didn't say anything about pulling their feathers out," Hisoka said casually.

"Don't touch, don't touch," Muninn squawked.

"Oh, I don't have to touch you. Orion doesn't either. But anybody else can, right?" Hisoka purred. "So I can call a maid in, and demand she pluck out all your feathers."

"We will tell Luna!" Huginn snapped. "She will hate you!"

"She doesn't know you can speak, now does she?" Hisoka's eyes narrowed. "What is stopping me from killing you and replacing you with two ravens from outside?"

The two birds fell silent at that, their eyes blazing as their feathers fluffed out in the normal behaviour of birds trying to make themselves look bigger. It only amused the two predators several times larger than they were. Hisoka rose to his feet and took a menacing step forward, eyes glinting in delight. Next to him, Orion did the same.

Luna frowned, suddenly feeling shivers run up her spine. They couldn't… They wouldn't… right?

Suddenly she turned on her heel and raced back towards the room.

Who was she kidding? Of course they would.

The door burst open and she walked in to see Hisoka and Orion lounging on the bed, identical grins on their faces as they watched the frightened maid pluck out the third feather.

"Stop," Luna said.

Her voice was soft, but it was angry enough that everyone in the room froze, the maid dropping the raven in her terror. As if Hisoka and Orion weren't frightening enough, the girl who looked so nice and delicate was ten times more scary right then. So the maid bolted, swearing never to serve this room again.

Huginn and Muninn, with wounded pride and a little too much haste, flew clumsily back onto Luna's shoulders and glared at the two males, feeling a lot braver now that their mistress was here to protect them. Luna mirrored their glare, her expression dark enough to send Orion crawling backwards on the bed, not even stopping when he fell off with a thump. His ears lay flat on his head and he cowered in the corner of the room, hoping that she would forget about him when she finished with Hisoka.

"Orion, Hisoka, outside the room _now_ ," Luna said quietly, but there was no mistaking that her words were an order to be obeyed. The moment the two were outside, Luna stared them down. "Do not move from this spot. You are allowed to go to the bathroom only for five minutes, only in this room, and only if you ask for permission first. You are not allowed back in this room until I allow you to enter, and you will not go find a more comfortable place. Sleep on the floor by the door. Good night."

The two males, one cat and one human, stared at the closed door with shocked expressions. Maybe bullying the ravens wasn't worth it…


	37. Chapter 37

Hisoka was quite sure his back and neck would ache badly in the morning. Sure, he was used to sleeping anyplace, but a marble floor? That was cold and hard, and not comfortable at all. He wasn't skinny by any means, as he had a good amount of muscle on him, but there were places where his bones jabbed uncomfortably against the floor. Besides, the cold from the floor was the kind that seeped into his bones, and if he lay there for much longer he would be shivering all night. He sighed and sat up. His tailbone started to feel numb if he sat down for too long, but it didn't seem like he had much of a choice.

His Chibi-chan must have known this would happen.

…Why was he obediently going along with her punishment anyways? He didn't belong to her like Orion did, so it wasn't like she could do anything to him if he disobeyed. Yet, that was the problem. She wouldn't do anything to him, or more precisely, she wouldn't do anything _with_ him. He _liked_ sleeping with his Chibi-chan, and he liked the sex even more. Do you know how _hard_ it was to find someone willing to bed him, allow him to cut them open in the process, and hurt him in return?

Right. Very hard, and no pun intended.

Hisoka sighed. It looked like he wouldn't get any sleep until she let him back into the room. He shot a nasty look at the sleeping Orion, quite comfortable with all his fur and baby fat. Cats were lucky enough that they could sleep anywhere. Hisoka, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to sleep even if the floor was more comfortable.

He already knew Luna was really protective of her pets. She had become absolutely furious with him when he kicked Orion back then. So what made him think it was a good idea to bully her ravens? Right. Their taunting made him lose his Luna-sense.

What was Luna sense? His eighth sense regarding Luna, which included her location as long as she was within range, included his ability to read her blank expression, and included what made her emotions change.

Therefore, he could only conclude that turning into a full blown sadist on her birds was very _stupid_.

And… Hisoka smirked, rising to his feet, before hesitating. She _did_ say not to leave from that spot. But still, wasn't this an emergency situation? He was allowed to leave in an emergency, right? And since she was sleeping, she shouldn't know, right?

Oh who was he kidding. Of course she would know. So Hisoka turned and knocked on the door, the loud raps bouncing off marble. Luna opened the door so silently that he almost knocked air before he realized the door was open, and glanced down at her with a bloodthirsty grin and an eyebrow raised.

Luna nodded. "Let's go."

Hisoka jumped out the window. Luna blinked in mild surprise, mainly at the fact that he remembered to actually _open_ said window before leaping out. Usually a blood hazed Hisoka would just go through anything to get at his prey, even if it meant he would get injured. After all, it wasn't like he minded pain. In spite of her curiosity at the uncharacteristic behaviour, Luna shrugged she shrugged and followed suit, leaving the animals to sleep.

They didn't sleep for long. Huginn and Muninn woke first, eyes almost glowing at the allure of corpses. In the modern world, it wasn't like people got hung all that often, so even Huginn learned to grow attracted to slain bodies, for yes, they were aptly named. Perhaps they had telepathically signalled for the girl to once again grant them their original names, or the girl had a sense for mythology, but either way the result was the same.

Kaido's guards died left and right, slain all too easily by the attackers. It didn't really help that Hisoka killed indiscriminately either, merely slaying everyone who was unlucky enough to fall within his reach. The ravens cawed as they circled above his head, refusing to approach in case Hisoka attacked them as well, simply waiting for Hisoka to move on so they could approach the dead.

It didn't take long for them to realize they were better off joining Orion, who pounced cheerfully on every human he could reach and shredding them with his claws. He was starting to like fighting and killing a little too much, and vowed to spend less time with the terrifying magician… Later.

Unlike the rest of her group, Luna stood in the shadows watching, observing. It wasn't like Hisoka or Orion would leave anybody alive to question, and it wasn't like she had Feitan's torturing skills. She had no choice but to watch and try to discover who had sent these men to attack Kaido.

She narrowed her eyes, then relaxed with a sigh. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. So she reached out and grabbed a passing infiltrator, pulling him into the shadows and pressing him against the wall. He yelped in surprise, eyes wide, before he relaxed and his lips curved into a smirk upon seeing a weak looking girl.

"Who sent you?" Luna asked.

"What's it to you, doll?" He replied cockily.

"I ask the questions here," Luna said.

"Well, if you answer my questions, I'll answer yours."

Luna considered the deal for a moment before nodding. It was fair. "I will start. Who sent you?"

"Oregano," the man said, and seeing her confused look, added, "the mafia."

"Why?" Luna asked, confused.

"Ah ah. My turn," the man tsked. "Who was the one who destroyed the Rose Maria?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"The fight club," the man explained, growing slightly exasperated.

"Oh… Me?" Luna answered, almost sheepish.

"… Huh?"

"Me," Luna repeated. "So I killed everyone there except the staff, they told the boss about me, and the boss sent a bunch of goons to kill me?"

"Yeah. The boss lost a lot of money and had to close the place down and now the top are angry at—Hey! Why the hell am I telling you all this?!" The man shouted angrily. "HEY! THE ASSASSIN IS HERE!"

Immediately a small crowd gathered around Luna. Her eyes surveyed them. They were decent nen users, and quite well trained. But they were nowhere near a match for her. She sighed, and closed her eyes for just a moment. And when she opened them again, her nen completely vanished, followed by the girl a mere second later.

The group widened their eyes collectively, shocked that someone could vanish right before their eyes. Of course, the surprise didn't last long before it faded into blackness, the men dying one by one. No matter how good a fighter they were, no matter how adept a nen user, nobody could stop a top class assassin. Monsters like Hisoka were an exception.

Luna skidded to a halt, eyes widening as she lost balance for a moment before she planted her foot firmly on… She glanced down and jumped back immediately. Note to self, do not land on human heads. Not good for balance.

She glanced around, looking for Hisoka or more enemies, whichever came into view first. What she saw was neither, actually. The ground was covered by a small mountain of corpses. It wasn't that there were _that_ many men attacking. It was just a small group of skilled mafia underlings. But the men were just piled one on top of another in a neat stack. And she knew only one person who would do that.

"Hisoka," Luna called out.

Just as she suspected, Hisoka peeked out from behind the pile, a corpse in his hand ready to add to the top of the stack. "Hmm?"

"We do not tell Kaido they were here to attack me and not him," Luna said.

Hisoka raised an eyebrow. "Fine?"


	38. Chapter 38

Thank you for faving/following: Luminaaa, I'mAtTheSoupStore18, slayer of the wind, Beanifer.

laxusdrayer2324: Yeah, the ravens can talk. Apparently Huginn and Muninn (the original from the myths) know human speech, and report what happens daily in the world to Odin whenever they return at dusk. The hard salty yellow thing is cheese. Oregano is the mafia boss that owned the fight club where Luna killed everyone, and he wants her dead because she destroyed one of his most profitable clubs. And killed a lot of people in the process, so nobody dares associate with Oregano anymore, meaning even less money for the man. Luna's keeping everything secret from Kaido! He just thinks they're out to get him, and not her.

SoulXHunter: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it. Luna is eccentric, in a different way from Hisoka (I'm glad you don't think he's OOC, by the way). Cats and birds are natural enemies, but don't you think it's kind of fun to have the birds bully the cat instead of the cat bullying the birds? Hisoka will get his license soon. Luna gets hers a year before Hisoka (he participated in the exam twice, and got his license the second time), and Kaido will disappear within a few chapters. I don't know if by 'disappear' you mean the arc ends and they leave, or that Kaido dies. No, I didn't mention who the girly boy was. I think I completely forgot about him, even though I was planning on explaining T.T Can't be Kalluto, though, since Hisoka wouldn't ever think Kalluto is 'weak'.

* * *

By the time the two returned to the mansion, Hisoka once again drenched with blood and Luna once again spotless, Kaido was awake. Actually the entire mansion was awake. Screams of terror and pain made wonderful alarm clocks, if the nen filled with killing intent didn't wake everyone first.

Luna felt a little pity for the servants, as they worked hard all day and didn't deserve to be woken brutally in the middle of the night. She could see the exhaustion hovering over them, their faces haggard and their eyes surrounded by dark rings. She wondered if they would get to go back to sleep after the situation calmed down, but she doubted it. When Kaido was awake nobody else was allowed to sleep.

A maid waited at the door for the assassin and magician to enter, before leading them to Kaido's office. For once Hisoka waited until the maid had knocked and they were given permission to enter. Kaido looked surprisingly immaculate. Even though he had woken by surprise and barely had time to prepare himself, he wore an unwrinkled suit and looked refreshed by the short amount of sleep. If he hadn't looked like he got a full night's rest, Luna would have thought he hadn't gone to sleep in the first place.

"Well?" Kaido asked impatiently, skipping the pleasantries.

"It was the mafia," Luna said.

Kaido raised an eyebrow. That was probably the last thing he expected to hear from the girl. She was supposed to stay in the room and keep Hisoka happy. But this turn of events didn't disappoint Kaido either. At least the girl was earning her pay, even if she didn't do it the orthodox way.

But then the words hit him, and he sighed, holding his head in his hands. If he had somehow angered the mafia, his life was over. It didn't matter how many bodyguards he hired or how far away he moved. Even if he moved to Meteor City, the mafia would just bomb the place, and even if the citizens avenged those the mafia killed, he would still be very much _dead_.

"Or more specifically, Oregano," Luna continued.

Hisoka stayed quiet, waiting to see how she would handle the situation. She wasn't exactly lying, he mused. She was just… Twisting the truth a little. It was true that the mafia had initiated the attack, but the target wasn't quite Kaido. Still, since they would have killed everyone in the mansion if Hisoka and Luna hadn't slaughtered them instead, it didn't really matter if they were specifically targeting the rich businessman or not.

"Would you like me to go give him a warning?" Luna asked.

This time both men stared at her in surprise.

"Erm… And how exactly… No, never mind. I do not want to know. Go ahead. Just make sure he would not attack me again," Kaido said with a tired sigh.

Luna bowed slightly, barely more than an incline of the head, and strode out. Hisoka hesitated for merely a moment before he followed behind her feeling like an abandoned puppy, since he couldn't go on the killing fest with her.

"I'm not going to kill anyone," Luna told him as if reading his mind. "Probably…"

"Oh?" Hisoka asked.

He trailed after her until they reached the front door, but he didn't take a single step out. In spite of his love of fighting and killing, Hisoka knew that he would fail as an assassin. He was levels above her as a fighter. But she was levels above him as a silent killer. That meant if his Chibi-chan was going on an assassination job, he would only get in the way.

"I'll be back by dawn," Luna told him, and she vanished.

Hisoka blinked once and squinted, trying to find her without using his Luna senses, but as usual, he couldn't see a single ting. So he sighed and walked back in, sitting by the bedroom door to wait for her return.

Only after wandering around for half an hour did Luna notice that she had no idea where Oregano's house was. She stood in the middle of the street, completely lost, a confused expression on her face. How in the world was she supposed to find out something like—

Oh.

She headed for the nearest internet bar, hoping that it was open all night. Thankfully, it was. She strode in, flashed her hunter license, and sat down at the nearest free computer. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see some unsavoury characters eyeing her as easy prey, but she completely ignored them. She quickly logged onto the Hunter webpage—why was it decorated with hearts today?—and surfed for Oregano.

It was surprisingly easy to find. She shook her head at the stupidity of the underground people. There were plenty of blacklist hunters out there, apparently now including her, who weren't afraid to hunt mafia. To broadcast the address on the hunter webpage was a bright neon sign saying 'Kill Me!'

Well, lucky for Oregano—stupid name, though; why didn't he change it when he became a mafia boss?—she wasn't out to kill him that night. If he physically got in her way, sure. But otherwise all she would do was give him a warning.

When she arrived… What in the world was with rich, powerful people and overly flamboyant mansions? It wasn't like they had large families living with them, so what need was there for such a huge home? It was a waste of time and money, and required too much labour that the home owners would never put in. And more often than not, the interior design was so tacky that if she were the owner, she would be embarrassed to show the home to anyone.

But she had to admit, most of her annoyance was one of an assassin that would have to search through all the rooms to find Oregano's bedroom. Luna sighed. She didn't know how many rooms there were, but it looked like there were enough that she should get started.

Or… She could just try to sense his nen.

It wasn't like she knew his nen signature like she knew that of Hisoka or the Ryoudan members she had met. But in places like this, it was highly likely that the servants didn't have their own rooms, and instead had to share. That meant the only room with only one nen signature would belong to Oregano.

She really should have asked the man what Oregano looked like before she killed him… Well, she supposed it didn't matter, since a gigantic portrait of the mafia boss was smack dab in the middle of the hallway she entered. Luna raised an eyebrow. What was with rich men and narcissism? This really explained why so few rich men were married. Even if they did manage to get married, they didn't stay married for very long.

Luna glanced around, blending in with the shadows. No need to worry, really, since the mansion's halls were completely abandoned by human life forms. Silent steps took her to the bedroom door, and she opened it just a little before peering in, a single blue eye wandering the room.

She smirked.


	39. Chapter 39

A figure lay in bed, just as expected, snoring loudly. Her gyo activated. She couldn't see any traps in sight—how stupid, considering that mafia were often assassination targets—so she walked in. It was actually all too easy, too convenient. She quickly penned a note with the pad and pen on the bedside table, occasionally glancing at the man to make sure he was still sleeping. And with a fluid motion, stabbed the note and a knife into the pillow next to the sleeping face.

With that, she left through the window, and left it open. She didn't really care if the mafia boss caught a cold from the night breeze. The job was almost disappointingly easy. She really preferred dealing with awake people. It was a lot of fun playing hide and seek and die with them, even though they never found her. So far, Hisoka was the only one who could beat her in the game, which was one of the main reasons she never played it with him. It wasn't that she was worried about dying, per se, but dying by Hisoka's hands with Hisoka's sadistic methods wasn't on the list of ways she wouldn't mind dying by.

Oregano's mansion was shocked to life the next morning with a loud scream of terror. And Oregano swore never to send anybody against Kaido…

And never, for the rest of his life, have any association with the cold-hearted Luna Valdis who could stab a knife into his pillow without him noticing... And could leave him with a nasty cold.

As promised, Luna made it back to Kaido's mansion by dawn. The mansion was silent. Contrary to what she expected, everyone had returned to sleep, and would more likely than not wake up a few hours later than usual. She moved silently through the halls, her boots not even making a whisper against marble.

When she got to the room, she was surprised to see Hisoka building a tower of cards outside the door, waiting for her to return. Luna raised an eyebrow, staring at him for a moment, wondering what in the world he was doing in the cold hallways when there was a warm bed inside.

"You're back," Hisoka commented.

"Why are you sitting here?" Luna asked.

Hisoka finally glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't give us permission to go back in."

Luna cocked her head in confusion, brows furrowed, before she remembered. "Oh."

"Oh," Hisoka repeated flatly.

"Oh," Luna confirmed. "Well? Aren't you going to promise not to bully or tease Huginn and Muninn anymore?"

"I promise," Hisoka said with mock solemnity, raising his right hand.

Luna's gaze flicked to her sleeping cat. Her frown deepened. "Orion, you too."

The cat opened a single eye and promptly shut it again, still attempting to fake sleep. Luna crossed her arms over her chest, an unamused expression on her face. Orion whined. The birds started it! Those little stupid balls of feather were the ones who insulted Orion and Hisoka, so why were they getting punished while the birds got away scot free?

Oh yeah. Those dumb birds didn't get caught.

Grumbling slightly, Orion raised a paw and meowed a promise. He was rewarded with a smile and a short rub behind the ears. He cheered up immediately, his anger towards the ravens draining. Hisoka shook his head. The cat was so easily pleased when it came to Luna.

Well, Hisoka thought, glancing at the girl. He probably wasn't much different in that aspect. Probably why he got along with Orion now more than they originally did. But he shot a sour glance at the ravens, both of which were displeased that the punishment was over, he really didn't think he would ever get along with those birds.

Therefore, Hisoka didn't hesitate to send the two ravens a smug smirk when he got into bed with Luna, snuggling close against her warmth in spite of her attempts to escape. His arm snaked around her waist and drew her close, and he ignored the sound of protest that escaped her throat. He only noticed the birds fluffing out their feathers, glaring at him in indignation.

It seemed that the last few days had reverted Luna's sleep cycle back to the assassin's normal one, for she didn't wake until night. Hisoka had woken long ago, of course, but he didn't move a muscle. He knew she was a light sleeper, and time simply flew by when he watched her sleep. Her sleeping face was simply adorable, and Hisoka wasn't afraid to use that word.

Hisoka smirked. What would Nova say if he saw this? No, what would Nova say if he knew that Hisoka had already tainted the Valdis' precious, innocent little sister? It only gave him more pleasure and satisfaction to know that Nova would most definitely throw a fit and try to kill Hisoka immediately. In fact, it almost made Hisoka wish there were ghosts, so he would have a furious Nova hovering over his shoulder at every moment, haunting him.

And when he _played_ with Luna… Well, nobody ever said Hisoka wasn't an exhibitionist.

"Stop watching me sleep. It's creepy," Luna deadpanned. "And don't make that creepy grin when I'm sleeping either."

Hisoka feigned a hurt look. "But I positively adore you, Chibi-chan. You don't adore me?"

Luna scoffed. She 'adored' Orion. She 'adored' Huginn and Muninn. Heck, she might even 'adore' Chrollo in addition to admiration and something akin to familial love. But Hisoka? Not even close. Hisoka wasn't a creature one would ever call 'adorable'.

As if reading her thoughts, Hisoka whined, "How cruel." But his expression changed immediately, the man once again smiling. "But you belong to _me_. No matter what, your life, your body, every part of you belongs to _me_."

Luna raised her eyebrow. "Possessive bastard. I'm not a toy."

"You're my toy. All strong fighters are my toys," Hisoka shrugged before sitting up. "It's just that you're my toy in more than one way."

"I swear… I'll never sleep with you again," Luna muttered.

Hisoka's eyes narrowed as his grin grew, and his index finger tilted her chin. He pressed his lips to hers almost harshly, biting down on her lower lip before pulling back. "Yes you will."

"Hmph," Luna huffed, and turned away.

Then she stiffened, and one glance at Hisoka told her that he had the same reaction. Hisoka frowned, focusing. A ninety eight was in the mansion. His fingers twitched with the desire to fight and kill. His bloodlust skyrocketed.

Luna placed a warning hand on top of Hisoka's, squeezing to draw his attention back to her. But her own focus was on the invasive nen. It was familiar, yet she couldn't quite place it.

As if they received a signal, both nen users sprinted for the door, weaving their way through the halls of the mansion towards the moving infiltrator. The other party was moving quite quickly, and Luna realized that he was trying to escape Hisoka. The bloodlust radiating with the sickly sweet nen was hard to miss, after all, and anybody with a decent amount of brain cells would realize they should try to escape.

Yet the infiltrator suddenly stopped, and Luna's step faltered. Was he or she creating a trap for them? Or was he or she preparing to fight? The first option was highly unlikely in this strange environment, and the second option still unlikely because the infiltrator had had a good chance of escaping if he kept up that speed. So what made him or her stop?

When they arrived, the answer became quite clear. The figure stood staring, as if entranced, at the wall. Luna uncharacteristically stumbled before she came to a complete halt, her jaw agape. Hisoka stopped next to her, more than a little disappointed.

They stared into a familiar face, which turned to glance at them.

"Well. This is awkward," Chrollo said.


	40. Chapter 40

Thanks for faving/following: lovefanfic4ever, Toove3213, LittleYami, gincitri, and Scykra.

laxusdrayer: Kaido probably would never find out. He'll spend the rest of his life worrying about mafia getting him *evil laugh*. I'm not even sure if I want him to live that long. I'm debating killing him off and leaving him alive. Haha! Nice twist, right? I bet nobody expected Chrollo to appear, especially after I hinted that it would be the Zoldycks instead. But somehow, I don't think what happens next would be as exciting as you think. Just humor dry as the desert. I just hope I don't disappoint you...

SoulXHunter: I really wanted to ask last time, but is your guest name a mixture of Soul Eater and Hunter x Hunter? Is Luna really that creative? I always thought of Hisoka as the creative killer. If he was a serial killer, he would drive the police/detectives insane. And yup, Kaido's in for a surprise when it comes to Luna. He hasn't seen anything yet. You actually guessed what Chrollo was there for, but you'll have to read the chapter for confirmation :)

Zeila27: I wonder what your mental image is? But yeah, the idea of Hisoka seemingly innocently making a promise is hilarious. Hisoka is fun to mess with, don't you think? If we were facing him in reality, though, we wouldn't think so XD

A/N: I wonder if anybody is going to tsukkomi Chrollo and Hisoka and Luna... And this week probably won't have that many updates. I'm flying back to Canada, and jet lag after that would suck...

* * *

Awkward was an understatement. The trio stared at each other for a long time, a tense silence hanging over them, thick enough to be cut by a spoon. Contrary to Luna and Chrollo's predictions, Hisoka's bloodlust disappeared the moment he saw the Ryoudan leader, replaced by a dull 'what the heck' look on his face. It wasn't that he had no interest in fighting Chrollo right then. He still desperately wanted a death match against the Spider. But for some reason all his excitement drained when he discovered that the powerful intruder was Chrollo. Probably because the setting and mood weren't very fitting for the high expectations Hisoka had for the fight against Chrollo.

Underneath the blank mask, Luna's expression mirrored Hisoka's. She could only stare vacantly at the thief, not a single thought moving through her stunned mind. Chrollo was here. Chrollo was going to steal something. And most importantly, _Chrollo was doing a job without having called her back_. The girl was a little hurt. Chrollo had promised he would call her if he needed her, and while he obviously didn't seem to need her right then, he was still robbing a place without his pet assassin guarding him.

Needless to say, of all people the assassin and magician had expected to meet here, Chrollo was definitely not one of them.

"Hello," Luna said. It was the only thing she could think of to say.

"Hello," Chrollo replied.

Silence fell once again.

"Would you like something to drink?" Luna finally asked. After all, it never hurt to be a good host.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I am quite thirsty," Chrollo nodded.

"The kitchen is this way," Luna gestured for Chrollo to follow and walked off, Chrollo trailing along behind her.

Hisoka stood motionless, a frown adorning his face. There was something off about the situation. It just didn't make sense. No, it wasn't that Chrollo was there, since he was a thief, so it made sense for him to rob a rich man's house. It wasn't even that Luna had offered the man a drink as if she owned the mansion, and that Chrollo oh so nonchalantly agreed.

The magician glanced at the wall, and his eyes lit up in realization. So that was the problem. Chrollo hadn't stolen anything yet. With a satisfied smile on his face, he removed the painting from the wall, the one Chrollo had obviously been eyeing, and brought it with him to the kitchen. Really, it wasn't like Chrollo to leave without stealing what he wanted.

"You make surprisingly good hot chocolate," Chrollo commented, savouring his drink.

"Thank you. I cannot cook on a stove, but as long as it is on an open fire and nobody else can cook, you can leave the cooking to me," Luna replied.

Hisoka almost smiled at the domestic scene. Two people drinking hot chocolate in front of a warm fire, snug and cozy. And then he frowned, cocking his head. Warm fire? His eyes widened.

" _Chibi-chan_ … There's no fireplace," Hisoka said.

"I noticed."

"Then _why_ is there a fire in the middle of the kitchen?"

"Oh, I made it," Luna replied.

It was the first time Hisoka got a hint that she did not exactly have all her screws tightly screwed in. She should have put the fire off to the side instead of smack in the middle of the kitchen. That way nobody would accidentally step on it and burn their feet.

"Hisoka, want one?" Luna asked, gesturing to a third cup sitting on the table.

Hisoka shrugged. "Don't mind if I do."

Stepping carefully around the fire—where had she gotten that much firewood on such short notice?—he sat down with the other two and took a sip. Chrollo was right. It was good. They drank in a comfortable silence, quickly finishing their beverages. Luna placed them in the sink.

"How was the hunter exam?" Chrollo asked.

"Boring," Hisoka answered just as Luna said, "cute."

"Oh. You should meet Huginn and Muninn and Orion. Just so they don't decide to eat you, you see," Luna told Chrollo.

He frowned a little and cocked his head. "I… see?"

Back in his bedroom—for it _was_ the middle of the night—Kaido rubbed his eyes and sighed. He simply couldn't sleep. Insomnia had struck him the day the mafia attacked, and his worries flooded his mind at every moment of the day. On the bright side, during daylight hours he could busy himself with work and temporarily shove the fact that he had _mafia_ sending people to rid Kaido of his life out of his mind, but at night when he lay in bed, he could think of nothing else.

It was irritating. He had no idea what he had done to incur the wrath of a mafia boss. The only bright side to the situation was that he had not angered one high enough on the food chain to result in having all the mafia after him. And what in the world was the girl going to do? Or had she already done it? The more Kaido thought, the more his head ached. He had too many questions and insecurities, and no answers whatsoever.

Finally he could only sigh and sit up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. For once he didn't bother getting dressed in a suit, but put on a bathrobe and made sure he looked decent and respectable before walking out of his room. He wanted to see if the girl was back so he could ask a few questions, and he wanted something to help him sleep. Which took priority?

Kaido paused outside his room for a moment as he thought, and decided quickly. The girl would be there in the morning. Sleep would not. With that in mind, he headed to the kitchen.

It was a slight surprise when he heard soft voices coming from the area of the house he had never entered before. True, it could be the staff, but he highly doubted it. If the staff had the time and energy to chit chat in the kitchen in the middle of the night, they weren't working hard enough to earn their pay. A hand reached out, the kitchen door swung open. Kaido's eyes caught sight of black and red and purple, and he had his answer.

And the door slammed against the wall. Kaido jumped, but the reaction was slight compared to that of those who were sitting in the kitchen. Their eyes snapped to the intruder and weapons fell into open hands, all of them immediately on guard and ready to kill. It wasn't until they recognized the face—Chrollo obviously knew the man owned the mansion as well, considering that the man's face was on every corner and wall of the house—that they relaxed. Kaido never had a clue how close he was to getting mauled.

"Hisoka, Luna, please—" Kaido's voice trailed off and he frowned, staring at the stranger sitting in his kitchen like he belonged there. "Who are you?"

"Hello. I am Chrollo, a member of a notorious gang of criminals and thieves," Chrollo said with a polite smile. "And I was bored sitting around waiting, so I am here to steal anything that catches my interest."

If he had a portrait painted of this moment, the look on Kaido's face would make said portrait into the only portrait of Kaido that Luna would ever like.


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: Wow... I know it's only been around a week, but it feels like forever since I came onto FF...

On that note, Happywheal, bella cullen the original, harudha558, AnonymousDeviant, MadderThanAHatter2, Poosa-ard, Autumnsky4142, Maistyria, thank you so much for favoriting/following!

laxusdrayer2324: Even though normally it's the thief that is screwed when caught, when the thief is Chrollo, Kaido is definitely screwed. I really didn't plan the arc and everything just came out as I wrote it, but only Chrollo's appearance was the twist I always expected :)

SoulXHunter: He should be. He's strong and has no qualms about stealing. Chrollo doesn't really seem like the type to have a strong reaction to Luna's pets. Just wait for Luna to meet the rest of the Ryoudan *hint hint: Phinx*

Guest: Glad you like it!

Maistyria: Thank you! I guess I should edit after I write, but somehow I'm lazy that way. I'm glad there aren't that many grammer mistakes, though, otherwise I would be a failure of an English major...

MadderThanAHatter2: Wow, didn't take you long to read, right? Thank you so much for the nice things you wrote :)

* * *

His mind blanked out for a long moment. It was unthinkable. Unforgiveable. A thief sat in his kitchen, drinking what smelled like hot chocolate, in front of a fire that verged on becoming a bonfire that could burn his house down. And the two who were supposed to be his guards were treating the _thief_ like a guest.

" _What the hell is going on here_?" Kaido snapped, his emotions finally deciding that anger was the best course of action.

Of course, Luna couldn't help but think that was the most _stupid_ course of action, considering that all three nen users in the room could kill him twenty seven ways within a second, but it wasn't like any of them were petty enough to do so. No, they were all quite calm about the matter, almost amused at the small tantrum Kaido was throwing.

"I believe I already told you," Chrollo said slowly, as if talking to a child with an exceptionally low IQ. "I may have left out that Luna offered me a drink, and I must say, that was a lot more polite than the way you are behaving, even though you are the owner of this little house."

Kaido's disbelieving gaze shot to the girl. She cocked her head blankly at him. Chrollo was a friend. Therefore it was only polite to offer a friend refreshments when they visited. It wasn't like Chrollo had stolen anything _yet_. Luna pretended not to see Hisoka discreetly slide the painting Chrollo had been eyeing beneath the table, and merely gazed at Kaido with an innocent look.

"W-w-you-he-wha—ARGH!" Kaido finally screamed, no longer able to find words to fit the situation.

"Oh dear. I think we fried his mind," Chrollo commented, a semi worried expression on his face. "A pity really. He has horrible taste, or rather an overblown sense of narcissism, but he really does buy a few nice things."

"So you want to kill him and rob the place clean?" Hisoka asked, smiling a little.

"No, I think that would not be a good idea," Chrollo sighed. "We do not have Shizuku's vacuum, you see, so it would be difficult to get _all_ the nice things in the mansion. Besides, there are so many tasteless things that it would be a waste of time and effort anyways."

Kaido's eyes widened comically. "AARRGH!"

All three ignored him.

"Orion can help carry some things if you want. I'll be going back soon anyways, so he doesn't need to come back by himself," Luna said. "He should be big enough to carry a few sacks."

"I see," Chrollo nodded. "Then I will accept the help."

"It might take a little time to find something worth taking, though," Luna pointed out. "Would you like to begin now?"

"I believe so. Are you helping as well, Hisoka?"

Hisoka tapped his index finger against his chin for a few seconds, pondering, before nodding decisively. "I am bored anyways."

"ARGH!" Kaido repeated.

"Right, right. You don't have to pay us anymore," Hisoka said. "Beside, nobody will attack you again, after Chibi-chan… _dissuaded_ the mafia."

"ARGH!"

"Shall we go?" Chrollo asked. "Luna, you must tell me about what happened. It seems like it would be an interesting tale."

"Then I suppose I should start by telling you I accidentally became a Blacklist Hunter," Luna told him. "And that I never got my sandwich."

"Hm," Chrollo's voice said, fading out of Kaido's hearing range. "A hunter license in exchange for a sandwich… I don't think it was a good trade."

"I agree," Luna nodded.

"I could still make you the poisonous mushroom and radiation rat sandwich," Chrollo offered.

"Thank you, but I prefer not to consume something not fit for normal human consumption."

"Suit yourself," Chrollo shrugged. "Hisoka?"

"Might be an interesting experience," Hisoka thought, almost shuddering at the thought of _delicious_ pain. "But I would rather die fighting someone strong."

"Suit yourself," Chrollo repeated.

They walked in silence for a moment, their eyes slipping over the portraits of Kaido and searching for something worth _anything_. It really was like looking for a piece of grass in a haystack.

Of course, that meant they grabbed anything they could find that was of worth. Still, their hands remained fairly empty until they arrived at the vault. Luna stared at it and sighed. They would have to blast it open. She took a few steps back, and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Chrollo do the same. There was no doubt that Hisoka would be the one to attack the giant hunk of metal.

Hisoka smirked.

 _THUNK! CLANG! CLANK!_

Three hard kicks, infused with nen, and the magician tore a small hole through the vault door. After that all he had to do was slice down the metal with his nen enhanced cards to make the hole big enough for the three to enter.

And suddenly a loud noise.

Luna's head shot up sharply. The alarm was ringing violently, as if trying to warn the entire world that Kaido—or rather Kaido's riches—were in danger. The trio had no doubt that the police would arrive in a short time, possibly accompanied by hunters. Chrollo gestured to Luna, for their voices wouldn't be heard over that infernal noise, and they slipped in to help Hisoka bag the money.

Even as they filled the sacks, Luna came to realize something, and her eyes widened mere centimeters. She reached into her pocket and removed three small sacks, handing two to each Ryoudan member. Chrollo only had to drop a few coins in the sack before he realized what it was, and almost smiled.

What? Every assassin that used projectiles needed one or two inter-dimensional storage bags. They stored limitless things, which was perfect for storing Luna's weapons. And just in case she lost a bag, she carried several around with her. Basically, at every moment of the day, not including her nen conjured weapons, she carried two hundred thirty seven weapons around.

Despite the amount of money, they quickly 'filled up' the bags. For a moment, Chrollo wondered if he should leave half the money behind. He was a thief. He stole what he wanted and needed. He didn't need any of this money, since he never bought anything. So why in the world—Ah. That was right. He stole what he _wanted_. And right now he wanted to rob the vault of its treasures until not even a mouse could find a crumb.

Therefore, the trio ignored it when the alarm shut off and the police sirens wailed in its stead. They shovelled money into the bags as if they had all the time in the world. Luckily, Kaido was a very neat and tidy man when it came to money. He had tied them into nice large bundles, making it _very_ easy for the Genei Ryoudan members and Chrollo's pet assassin to take everything.

At last, Chrollo surveyed the empty vault and nodded, before stepping out—and stopped in his tracks. He stared into golden eyes. Golden eyes stared back. Well, he wasn't exactly expecting that. How peculiar. How interesting. He really hoped the creature didn't belong to Kaido, because he _liked_ cats, and would prefer not to kill such a magnificent creature.

"Orion?" Luna asked, and the cat meowed in reply. "Good. Where are Huginn and Muninn?"

Two squawks answered her, the ravens landing on her shoulders. She almost smiled. She strode ahead of Chrollo and pulled her suspicions panteron out of the way to allow the man to pass. Needless to say, Orion quickly got the message that if he attacked Chrollo, Luna would be _very_ unhappy with him.

The trio made their way through the mansion unhindered. But the moment they got outside, they were practically blinded by the lights. Luna really had no idea why police needed such bright lights. Then again, it made it easier for them to see their targets, and more difficult for the targets to see them.

Too bad such gimmicks didn't work on the three powerful nen users.

"Stop right there! We have you surrounded. Surrender peacefully or we'll shoot!"


	42. Chapter 42

Hisoka raised an eyebrow. Whatever they shot couldn't possibly go against his cards. Besides, were they stupid? There wasn't any way a nen user would simply surrender to mere humans, no matter what those humans carried. Nen users were always more powerful… Well, usually more powerful.

So Hisoka shrugged, disappeared, and reappeared behind a terrified Kaido, before disappearing once again, and with Kaido in tow, reappeared in front of Chrollo and Luna. The police stared at the blank space where the businessman had been standing, utterly shocked.

"I suggest you don't move, or this man dies," Hisoka drawled, brandishing his card before placing it at Kaido's throat.

The policemen scowled, their muscles tensing as their hands inched towards their guns. It wasn't like they thought the card was a threat. In fact, a card as a choice of weapon was a joke. But the man had moved faster than their eyes could see, and he had taken Kaido hostage. _That_ was never a situation to laugh at.

"Do we really need to go through this?" Chrollo asked.

Hisoka shrugged, smiling impishly. "It's always fun to rile up weak humans."

Luna sent him a dubious look. The last time he had taken a hostage, the situation ended very badly. In fact, she was quite sure things would go the same way again. There was just no way Hisoka knew how to handle a hostage situation, especially when he was the one holding the hostage.

"Hisoka, maybe someone else should—" Luna began.

"No, no. Chibi-chan, I can handle this," Hisoka cooed.

 _BANG!_

Hisoka glanced down in surprise. A bullet sat on the ground in front of him, cut down by Luna's knife. It wasn't that he hadn't seen the bullet coming. It was just that he hadn't expected Luna to intercept it, thus saving the idiot who had shot at Hisoka. He shot her an affronted look even as Kaido yelped, shocked. The police had _shot_ at him! Or rather, they had shot at Hisoka while he was the crazy magician's hostage!

"I could have handled that," Hisoka said.

"No you couldn't. You would have killed the police. That isn't in the script for a hostage situation," Luna rolled her eyes.

"I see," Hisoka said thoughtfully. "You really know about hostage situations, don't you?"

"It's common sense. I'll kill all the police if you want, but you wanted a hostage situation, so you get a hostage situation."

Kaido's eyes widened, and he turned his gaze to the girl. So… she wasn't just Hisoka's bed mate? She stared blankly back at him, no mercy or pity in her eyes. Kaido shuddered. Even more terrifying than being held hostage by the insane magician was the girl's eyes, jet black and ice cold. She was a killer. And he had no idea how he had missed it before.

The police stared at the girl with expressions mirroring the businessman's. A human stopped a bullet. A _human_ stopped a bullet. How in the world was that possible?! They had heard rumours of hunters and assassins being capable of superhuman feats, but they had never even considered that it could be true. After all, humans couldn't run up and down buildings, or run faster than cars speeding on an empty highway. Right?

"So what does happen in a hostage situation? I'm curious," Chrollo butted in.

"You know better than I do," Luna said, raising an eyebrow. "You were the one who taught me about it."

"Oh. So I was…"

They heard a wave of clicks as suddenly all the policemen's guns were pointed at the trio. Kaido let out a very unmanly squeak before he became a pile of jelly in Hisoka's hands. If Hisoka hadn't been holding him up he would have collapsed onto the ground. Hisoka barely noticed.

"At this rate you're going to accidentally kill him," Luna pointed out to Hisoka.

"Don't worry. I won't," the magician replied.

"Hey!" A policeman shouted, irritated that the trio paid no attention whatsoever to the policemen or their guns.

"Be quiet for a moment. We're trying to make sure we're doing the hostage thing right," Hisoka told the man.

"I do believe you're supposed to make demands now," Chrollo said thoughtfully.

"Hmm," Hisoka nodded, the paused. "What do I demand?"

"Money? And then a getaway, I suppose," Chrollo shrugged, before adding mournfully, "But this way of getting money seems too easy. Much more interesting to steal it."

"Hmm," Hisoka nodded again.

"Say, why don't we go rob the government after this? I'm sure there's a lot of money there," Chrollo said, brightening.

"Hey!" The policeman repeated, now on the verge of becoming royally pissed.

Hisoka sighed, and a card lodged in the man's throat. "How impatient. Didn't I tell you to wait a moment?"

"Sir!" Another policeman yelped, not at all pleased and quite terrified at the fact that his superior was now a corpse. He turned to Hisoka, his knees quivering, but a fierce scowl sat on his face. "You bastard!"

"I suppose I am. My mother never did marry my father, after all," Hisoka replied. "Whoever he was."

The policeman stared blankly at Hisoka, before resuming his scowling. His finger tightened against the trigger, ready to pull at a moment's notice. He was really starting to hate the three. They killed his superior—he conveniently forgot that he absolutely loathed the man since five years ago, when the man had smashed a cup of coffee over his head just because it had been too bitter—and they ignored the policemen with guns as if they felt no fear towards the law.

Actually, if he was more honest with himself, he was furious and terrified at the sight of people completely unafraid of over a dozen guns pointed at them, and the probability that all three of them most likely had the ability to cut down all the bullets without getting a scratch.

So he resorted to the usual, "Surrender immediately, or we'll shoot!"

Hisoka immediately turned to the man, lips tightening, but still forming a smile. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You wouldn't want the hostage to die, now, would you?"

The policeman growled.

"We should make demands right about now," Chrollo cut in.

"Yes, well…" Hisoka pondered for a moment. "Let us through or we'll kill him?"

The group of police shuffled their feet uncertainly, but none made a move to let them through, and none put down their guns. As if sensing that the three had no idea what they should do, the police stood their ground.

"Well, that didn't go very well," Chrollo commented wryly.

"You don't say," Luna deadpanned.

"We'll never give in to lawless miscreants like you!" The policeman shouted.

"He seems to know big words," Luna said. "Do you think he actually learned them?"

"Probably," Chrollo said. "I heard there is something called a 'school'. Fascinating, really. Children attend it for eight hours of the day, before they return home. And once they stop going to 'school', they have to get a 'job', which also lasts about eight hours each day for five or six days a week."

Luna frowned. "Eight hours? You mean they actually have set times when they learn? And they have set hours for working?"

"Seems so."

Luna's eyes widened. "Fascinating. They actually _stop_ working… They don't have to drop from exhaustion or blood loss to get a break… How does that work anyways?"

Chrollo shrugged. "The concept is foreign to me."

 _BANG!_

Chrollo and Luna shot a look at the police that resembled annoyance, but they were too dignified for that just this moment. Still, their eyes conveyed everything, even if their faces remained blank. Or rather, their eyes would have conveyed everything, if their opponents were the Ryoudan or high level nen users. With normal, dull humans, not one of them noticed the annoyance.

Hisoka, however, did notice. "I repeat. Let us through, or this man dies."

The policeman scoffed, his nostrils flaring with a challenge. "The moment he dies, you become Swiss cheese."

Hisoka stared blankly at the man for a moment—how in the world could a human become a milk product?—before he pressed the sharp edge of the card against Kaido's throat, pressing lightly. A trickle of blood ran down the man's throat, and he fainted dead away. Nobody could blame him. He was already frightened out of his mind, and the pain just drove him over the edge. Rather, it was in his best interest to lose consciousness.

The policemen tensed at the sight of blood. It was then that they realized that no matter how flippant the three seemed about the situation, they were perfectly willing to kill the hostage and take their chances. And it was starting to look like the police were the ones disadvantaged if Kaido died.

Hisoka retracted the card in a spray of blood. He blinked once, twice, released the dead weight in his arms.

Hisoka stared blankly at the corpse at his feet, lying in a quickly growing puddle of blood. "Oops…"


	43. Chapter 43

Thank you to Theinzmann111, Dragonsheartsong, Nanami D Hibiki, Meli Laparesse, macwag5, MinamiNeko, Luminence, Rakuen91, AkaNeko-chan, baybaygalyean, OhWonder, Thehisokalover, RedFireCandy, giant goldfish, Joker's Lover, and Rizzie-chan for faving/following!

Maistyria: Thank you. Yes, I will be going to canon. Maybe 1-2 more chapters? It will be _fun_. At least it would be for me. :)

SoulXHunter: Thank you! I didn't think Kaido really deserved an eventful death. Everyone seemed to expect one, so I decided to do the opposite. I would think any normal person would lose their s*** if their employees let in a thief, don't you think? On the other hand, Luna and Chrollo won't get fazed so easily and Hisoka just doesn't care. Doesn't hurt that they know each other. 

laxusdrayer2324: Well, to give them credit, the police don't know the three. Those three are hardly the type to get their faces on bounty posters. I'm sorry for the late updates recently. I should be back on a regular schedule starting this week, so look forward to seeing the canon soon! (Killua included, of course, considering that the Ryoudan kidnapped Gon and Killua)

Thehisokalover: Thank you! I'm really happy that you like the story and Luna. I'm sure you're exaggerating the compliments, though. If I could write that well, I would be a published author :P I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story.

* * *

Luna stared blankly at the corpse, her mind completely blank. People were supposed to learn from their mistakes, right? People _learned_ from mistakes, right? So why did the situation feel like déjà vu?

"Again?" Luna said in disbelief.

"Oops?" Hisoka repeated, almost sheepishly. "It was just a little cut."

"That's what you said last time!" Luna exclaimed.

"I really do not think any cut to the jugular can be considered 'just a little cut'," Chrollo commented.

The policemen could only stare in disbelief at the corpse and the spray of blood splattered over the ground, the red a stark contrast to the white paving. Oh, they hated dealing with dead people. It meant a lot of paperwork and a lot of cleaning. And even worse, in this case, _they might not be alive to do the paperwork and cleaning_. That was very, very bad.

"I suppose it's too late to ask you to move aside and let us through?" Hisoka attempted, eyeing the police.

Of course, more than half turned tail and ran. Those were the smart ones. The few that stayed were either reckless, stupid, had a sense of justice too strong for their own good, or simply had no sense of self preservation. But it wasn't completely their fault. They had no idea what the three were capable of.

"I repeat one last time. You no longer have a hostage. Surrender peacefully, or we'll shoot!" The policeman shouted.

Luna blinked. "But they have already shot at us, haven't they?"

"I do believe they have," Chrollo agreed. "A little too late for such a warning."

"So who gets to kill them?" Hisoka asked, the most important question occupying his mind.

They were weak, but they were still living flesh and blood. Hisoka left potentially strong people alive, and usually didn't bother with those who were too weak. But they had initiated the attack, therefore killing them was justifiable. Hisoka really couldn't decide whether he wanted to kill them or not. On one hand they were so weak that it felt like he was bullying them, and on the other, he wanted to kill _something_.

"Janken?" Luna suggested. She wasn't a big fan of killing them either. She wasn't getting paid to do it, and unlike in an assassination, there was no adrenaline rush in a frontal attack.

"Loser gets the job," Chrollo finalized the decision for them. "Jan-ken-pon!"

The three blinked simultaneously, their eyes turning to meet the eyes of the extra hand that invaded the sacred space of janken. Innocent golden eyes stared innocently back.

"Is that supposed to be rock, paper, or scissors?" Luna asked.

"Meow."

"Sorry, I don't understand cat. Meow once for rock, twice for paper, and thrice for scissors," Luna told Orion.

"Meow meow," Orion replied resolutely.

"I guess he gets the job," Chrollo said, glancing at the three 'rocks' the three humans formed.

"Meow?"

"Well, you _could_ kill them. Technically I am a Hunter, so I can kill people without consequences. Besides, they've seen our faces," Luna replied.

"Meow rowr?"

"Leave the ones that ran away. They were smart enough to do so, therefore common sense dictates that they should also be smart enough to keep their mouths shut."

"Meow."

"Okay. Go ahead," Luna nodded, and Orion took off.

The two males stared at her blankly. Luna raised an eyebrow. It was rude to stare at people as if they had grown two extra heads, orange and purple spots, and a tail. _She_ was polite enough not to look at them like that, no matter what strange things they did, so it would be nice if they extended the same courtesy to her.

"I thought you said you didn't understand cat?" Hisoka finally said, ignoring the squishing and squelching noises, and the screaming and banging in the background.

"I don't."

"Then how did you know what Orion was saying?"

"I… didn't?" Luna half asked, confused.

"You _were_ having a conversation with the panteron," Chrollo pointed out.

She stared blankly at him. "I was?"

"You were," the two Ryoudan members chorused.

"Oh," Luna frowned. How _had_ she done that?

They waited in silence for a few seconds. The policemen were screaming, and Orion was quite obviously playing cat and cops with them. The cops were losing, of course, which only made the game more fun for said cat. One look at the scene, and the three nen users already knew that whoever had to clean up the next day would have a hell of a time—if they didn't throw up first and add to the mess. It didn't take too long for Orion to finish and prance back to his mistress, tail waving cheerfully in the air.

"Mrowr?" Orion asked.

"Meow—I mean, oh, you're done," Luna replied, then sent Chrollo a thoughtful look. "I forgot to introduce you, didn't I? Chrollo, Orion. Orion, Chrollo Lucilfer. And these two are Huginn and Muninn."

The two ravens—they had been flying over Orion and pecking at the corpses—flew back and squawked, greeting Chrollo with a polite bob of the head. Hisoka and Orion glared at the birds. They were so polite towards the danchou, yet they were so rude towards Hisoka and Orion. Just what in the world was that supposed to mean? The two ravens were obviously towards cute people. Luna was cute. Chrollo was cute—but only with his hair down, and not slicked back like an actor in some kind of sketchy hair product commercial with a very bad hair stylist. Hisoka, on the other hand, was not cute, and the cat didn't count because it wasn't technically a person.

Or maybe the birds were just biased towards the color black, like Luna and Chrollo's hair, and their own feathers.

"Nice to meet you," Chrollo replied, staring the animals straight in the eyes.

Immediately the three nonhumans stiffened, their backs straightening and their eyes bright and alert. They could already tell that Chrollo wasn't someone they could mess with. True, Hisoka and Luna weren't people they could mess with either, but Luna was soft towards animals, and she could keep Hisoka in line. Somewhat. Chrollo, on the other hand, did as he pleased.

"Luna, are you coming back to Meteor City?" Chrollo asked, turning to the girl. "I believe the Hunter Exam is soon, so the two of you would go separate ways. It would be best if you returned with me now, so you do not get into more trouble."

Luna averted her eyes, pouting. "I was only getting a sandwich."

"Exactly. You got into and passed the Hunter Exams while 'only getting a sandwich'. You would probably get mafia after you and end up causing them to drop a nuclear bomb onto Meteor City if you tried to come alone," Chrollo said firmly.

Luna squirmed. "Well…"

Chrollo raised an eyebrow.

"She already had a mafia boss come after her," Hisoka told Chrollo helpfully. "She took care of it, though."

Chrollo sighed. "How reckless. Do you attract lucky misfortune?"

"…That is an oxymoron."

"Yes. But it is what you attract," Chrollo said. "Events that seem unlucky, yet at the same time serve to bring you benefits."

"I see," Luna nodded. "Such things do seem to happen a lot. Well, I suppose I should go with you, then."

Hisoka's head shot up, startled. He stared at her with wide, plaintive eyes, and for a moment, his expression mirrored one that Orion often made. Luna blinked at him, and decided to keep Hisoka and Orion away from each other for a while. They were starting to adopt each other's traits.

"Wait, you're going back? Already?" Hisoka pouted, his voice verging on a whine.

"Of course," Luna said. "You have the hunter exam again soon, and I am _not_ going to 'sit' and 'stay' like a dog."

"You do it for Chrollo," Hisoka muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Luna asked, her tone saying that she heard exactly what he said, and he had three seconds to take it back.

"Nothing at all, dearest Chibi-chan," Hisoka replied with an innocent smile.


	44. Chapter 44

"Oi. What kind of vicious, disgusting, stupid, butt ugly thing would the Ryoudan keep for a pet?"

"I really don't think you should say that," Shalnark laughed nervously.

"Hah?" Phinx growled.

"She's dangerous, remember?"

"Tch. The entire Ryoudan is dangerous. What can one little pet do to us?"

Shalnark sighed. "A lot."

Phinx raised his eyebrows in a silent question, but said nothing more as the two completed the final leg of the journey, and walked into the abandoned building.

Hidden in the shadows, Luna stiffened, all her senses straining. She already knew she wouldn't see or hear _him_ —the rest of the Ryoudan made plenty of noise in his stead as they trickled in and argued—but her body reacted anyways. Then with an inaudible 'tch' of annoyance, she relaxed. He would show up when he wanted to, that bastard.

"So?" Phinx finally snapped, his usual scowl etched on his face.

Having gathered, the twelve members of the Genei Ryoudan glanced at him, their expressions all apathetic. Phinx was their resident idiot, so it wasn't like he would suddenly say something clever or insightful. Not a single one of them was curious about what he would say. They were only listening because, at this point, anything to kill time would be nice.

"I heard danchou got us a new pet," Phinx said. "So where is it?"

In the flickering candlelight, he didn't notice several members jolt slightly in disbelief. They knew he was stupid, but they didn't think he was _that_ stupid. Before the group met, the ones who had met Luna already informed the rest about the girl's existence. Chrollo trusted her, so nobody should attack her, but the girl _was_ dangerous. To their resident idiot, they gave the vague explanation that she had defeated several Ryoudan members in a fight, so he _should not try to fight her_. His upfront brawler style would not do well against the assassin.

"Phinx. Watch what you say," Feitan warned.

"Why?" Phinx smirked.

"Holy shit, he wants to die," Nobunaga muttered.

Feitan sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

The group fell silent, and there were no sounds except for that of the candle burning, pages of a book turning, and a certain restless idiot fidgeting. Luna's eyes shifted once again to the window, towards Hisoka's direction. What in the world was he waiting for? There was no sense in walking around for a few hours past the meeting time, unless he was just trying to irritate the irritable members, make a flamboyant entrance, or both.

She felt his presence reach out to brush against hers, acknowledging her presence. Their nen, however, were still well hidden with zetsu, and nobody else noticed the interaction. She could practically see the sly smile sitting on his lips.

The flame flickered.

"Have you memorized everyone's names?" Chrollo asked suddenly, not once taking his eyes off the book.

The Ryoudan collectively blinked, surprised. Of course they—And then those who knew Luna understood. She had never met half the Troupe.

Out of nowhere, the girl appeared, her nen appearing with her. In an instant the entire Genei Ryoudan—save for Chrollo—was up in arms, before just over half relaxed, recognizing the pale face. She studied their faces, quickly memorizing the new ones, before nodding. Pointing at the members one at a time, she named them.

"Feitan, Machi, Nobunaga, Uvo, Shalnark, Shizuku…" She paused, eyes roaming the members she hadn't met before. "Pakunoda, Kortopi, Bonolenov."

Silently she walked up to Phinx, moving just close enough to feel the body heat radiating off him. She raised an eyebrow. She was not _that_ close to him, yet he already felt like a furnace. In an uncharacteristic move, she allowed a sly smile to form on her lips.

"And the vicious, disgusting, stupid, butt ugly thing the Ryoudan keeps for a pet," she finished, making it perfectly clear that she was referring to Phinx.

"I told you not to say that," Feitan muttered. Still, the rest of the Ryoudan were slightly interested now, and quite amused.

"You _bitch_ ," Phinx growled.

His fist swung out, but it hit nothing but air as the girl retreated with light steps. She tilted her chin up with a mocking smile, as if to ask 'is this all you've got?' Phinx snarled and began to stalk towards her, fists clenched tightly at his sides. His eyes were blazing with fury. If Luna was a normal person, she would feel terrified. The candlelight magnified his glare, turning him into something more feral than human. But she wasn't a normal person, and a shadow had nothing to fear from a beast.

"Oi, Phinx. We're not supposed to fight each other, remember?" Nobunaga drawled lazily.

"The little bitch isn't even a member of the Ryoudan!" Phinx shouted.

"She is," Chrollo said, finally lifting his eyes from the book, only to stare Phinx straight in the eyes. They his gaze flicked to Luna's face, and he studied her expression for a brief moment. "But you may fight, as long as there are no serious injuries or fatalities. And only until Hisoka arrives."

Luna and Phinx immediately felt their smiles widen, even though Phinx's expression couldn't be considered a _smile_ , per se. It was more like a mixture between the grin of a panteron that had cornered its prey, and the ugly grimace of an angry werewolf. No offense to Uvo.

Phinx gathered nen in his fist, beginning to wind up for a powerful punch. Three would be enough for a person that small, he judged. It might break a few bones, though, maybe crush them to shards depending on how fragile the girl was. Well, not like he cared.

Luna stood with her head cocked, watching. Why _had_ she provoked a fight against him? True, she was _very_ bored after all the excitement of watching poisonous mushrooms grow in Meteor City—she had three hundred forty two pet mushrooms now, by the way, and a small part of her hoped that nobody would eat them—but it didn't explain why she was behaving like… Oh, so that was it. She had spent a little too much time with Hisoka, and his violent tendencies rubbed off on her just as much as they rubbed off on Orion.

Well, might as well lure the magician out.

She dodged a punch, and quickly landed a strike as she retreated. It was a light hit, but it riled Phinx up even more. The grin-slash-smirk disappeared, replaced by a dark look. The girl, too, let the smile fade into the blank mask she always wore. Chrollo watched her for another moment, considering. Her eyes were still dark blue rather than black, and she had neither used zetsu nor faded into the shadows yet. She was nowhere near serious about this fight. Therefore, he shrugged lightly, and returned to the book. It was just reaching the interesting part where the sacrifice discovered that humans were vile creatures. Would the character kill himself to foil the plans, or would he self destruct in an attempt to destroy the human race? Truly fascinating, this book.

Luna's eyes followed Phinx's attacks easily. He was strong, but he was nowhere near fast enough to—well, that hurt. Luna stumbled back in surprise as her fingers reached up to the bruise already forming on her cheekbone. The attack had barely grazed her, but it was still strong. Just what kind of brute strength did Phinx have? And what the hell would happen if he punched someone with his full power?

She didn't have much time to think, because the moment they saw—or felt—the fist clip her, two nen signatures filled with bloodlust, all directed at Phinx. Luna frowned. Had her nen reacted to the punch? She shook off the thought.

" _Stop_ ," Luna said, her voice leaving no doubt that her order was to be _obeyed_ , or else. "We are just playing around. Stay there, and _don't interfere_."

Chrollo glanced into the shadows where two golden eyes glowed with fury, and he raised an eyebrow. He heard a faint sigh before the eyes closed, and he suspected the panteron had reluctantly returned to its nap.

"What are you talking about?" Phinx snapped.

Luna's eyes turned to him, and two knives slipped into her open palms. Time to return the favour. Seeing the glint of silver, Phinx crouched into a battle ready stance, smirking. Finally, the kid was getting serious. She disappeared.

Phinx straightened, eyes wide with surprise. Feitan's eyes searched the room. He could barely see her. Barely. He sat back to watch the show. Since she wasn't serious, nothing but Phinx's pride would get hurt.

Orange danced across silver as a blade lashed out to nick the skin over Phinx's throat, then again over his temple. Phinx growled. The little shit was telling him that she could have killed him twice over with those two attacks. Like hell he was letting her get away with that. Then his eyes widened as he caught a flash of silver diving for his throat. The candle flickered out. Nothing hit.

"How cruel, playing with someone who isn't me," Hisoka purred.

It took three seconds for the Ryoudan's eyes to adjust to the dark. Hisoka held Luna's wrists above her head, dangling her over the floor with one hand. He had a smile on his face, but the look in his eyes were anything but friendly. He was _not_ happy.

"Oi, Hisoka. You're late," Phinx snarled.

"And _you_ bruised my toy," Hisoka replied, a finger brushing the bruise on her cheekbone.

"Let go of me already," Luna said, and twisted. She dropped silently onto her feet. "Since you were just waiting and walking around and mentally doing dirty things to Chrollo, I might as well find a way to get rid of my boredom."

"How cruel," Hisoka repeated, sending her an exaggerated pout. "I only have eyes for you."

"Yes, yes. Of course you do," Luna said. "Tell me that when you stop mind-raping Chrollo."


	45. Chapter 45

SoulXHunter: Glad you enjoyed the chapters. Phinx will have a wonderful time meeting Orion (note the sarcasm). Feitan will have a pretty interesting reaction too. As rival assassins, I'm sure Illumi and Luna don't get along. They've met once in the past, of course, with the assassin exchange day. Except they've already forgotten each other. Feitan would get along well with her, especially after she handed him someone he could torture to his heart's content. I wouldn't make her friends with Paku, though, because it's a little too cruel to a friendless character to give her a friend, and have said friend die almost immediately.

laxusdrayer2324: Thanks! You always say such nice things ^^ I like oxymorons. They're fun to work with, especially when they become quite literal despite the opposite meanings. Haha-Hisoka has a lot of things wrong with him, so I don't know where to start. And I'm not sure 'Feitan' and 'nice' go together in the same sentence...

Juliedoo: Glad you had fun! Anybody who deals with Hisoka needs to have a few screws loose.

Guest (both of you): Don't you think so? The expression Hisoka has on his face in episode 43 when he looks at Chrollo was the perfect inspiration. His thoughts were definitely nowhere near child friendly...

* * *

Everybody eyed her strangely before her words registered in their minds, and half of the Ryoudan stared at Hisoka with shock and disgust. Luna could swear that, despite the blank face, Chrollo kind of… _twitched_ at her comment. Her gaze turned to the leader of the Spiders. Surely that didn't surprise him. With all the lustful looks Hisoka sent the man, Chrollo had to know that Hisoka wanted to fight him, screw his half dead body senseless, and then fight him again. Repeat process if both still alive—or if Chrollo somehow dies in the second fight, have sex with the dead body and then, in the next five minutes, forget that Chrollo ever existed.

"The _f—_ " Phinx began.

" _Language_ ," Pakunoda warned.

"Luna…" Chrollo said slowly, before he paused, took a deep breath, and proceeded to send the assassin and magician a very disturbed look.

Out of everyone in the room, only Hisoka looked amused instead of disturbed. Luna blinked twice. Oops. Had she said all that out loud? She thought quickly. What had gotten such reactions out of everyone? Hisoka's thought process? Her understanding of Hisoka's thought process? Or was it the things Hisoka was obviously planning to do to Chrollo?

Well, it was definitely not the third one. The Ryoudan was too twisted to be disturbed by something as mild as fighting to the death, violent gay sex, and necrophilia.

Chrollo stared awkwardly at her, for once at a complete loss.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Nobunaga burst out. "That's disturbing enough!"

Oops. Did she say that out loud too? When had she developed that kind of habit anyways? She really shouldn't say her thoughts out loud. If she did that during an assassination she was dead meat.

…She should probably slap duct tape over her mouth for a while. Having nobody to talk to but Chrollo, a cat, and two birds wasn't very good for her mental health.

"Nice tsukkomi," Feitan said.

"How is it disturbing? Feitan does worse when torturing people," Luna frowned. "Ah. I see. You're disturbed that I understood Hisoka's thought process. It's too easy to guess what he's thinking, you know. Everyone knows Hisoka wants to do that to Chrollo… And to all the other 'fruits' Hisoka wants to fight."

Nobunaga gave her a blank look. What in the world made the girl think it wasn't the third reason? Well, Nobunaga supposed that Hisoka's thought processes and the girl's understanding of Hisoka's thoughts was quite disturbing. But that she _understood_ that Hisoka really would think those disgusting, disturbing thoughts that could send normal villains into a mental asylum, and that Hisoka thought those _dirty_ thoughts about their precious, pure, delicate Chrollo, was the worst of all.

…Nobunaga's head ached. He was pretty sure his thoughts hadn't made any sense. The swordsman frowned. Would there be expensive medication at the auction? Because he was pretty sure he would need it if he had to spend more than fifteen minutes in the presence of all the Ryoudan members plus their pet assassin.

Feitan glanced at his danchou, then at Luna, and back to their dazed leader. He didn't understand why everyone was so shocked. He recovered after the first few seconds, and he had only been shocked at the idea that their Chrollo would ever let Hisoka top him. The rest was just a trivial amount of gore, and a bit of fighting. No reason to look like someone dropped a nuclear bomb on Meteor City. But everyone _did_ look like someone killed half the Ryoudan, so Feitan decided that he needed to say _something_.

And of course, he could only ask the question that had been bothering him for a while. "By the way, why is there food staring at us?"

Luna blinked at Feitan, before she realized just what he was referring to. Her eyes widened, the girl startled that Feitan would even think about eating her precious pets. "Orion, Huginn, Muninn."

The cat walked into the moonlit area, the two ravens perched calmly on his back.

More than a couple members of the Ryoudan leapt back at the sight, weapons drawn. Orion took the chance to growl at Phinx, baring glistening fangs at the _idiot_ who _dared_ punch his mistress.

Hisoka raised an eyebrow. The cat had _grown_. He had just left for a short time, to take the hunter exam and stalk his new little apple, and the creature had grown to the size of a small bus. Orion was already bigger than his mother, if the corpse had been any indication. He glanced at his cute little assassin. Luna probably hoped Orion wouldn't grow any more. It would be very hard to feet Orion if he got any bigger.

"What the _hell_ is _that_?!" Phinx half yelled, a fist flying out towards the oversized cat.

Fangs snapped, and Phinx quickly retrieved his hand before the sharp—and very large—teeth could permanently detach it from his arm.

Phinx _liked_ his fists attached to his arm, thank you very much. Very hard to punch someone with no fist. And Phinx _liked_ punching people. They kind of go _crack_ and _splat_ and _thud_.

"It tried to eat me!" Phinx yelled.

It took two seconds for Shalnark's eyes to light up. "A panteron! This is amazing. They're almost impossible to find, especially outside their habitat. And an adult sized panteron…"

Even as Shalnark sighed with awe, Luna let out a faint sigh of relief. So the cat wouldn't grow any bigger. It was already eating three cows each day. Thank goodness she was hired by a band of thieves. Otherwise she would actually have to _buy_ food for the cat, and that would bankrupt her in days. At this rate she would have to feed Orion humans.

What? There were seven billion of them. Eating dozen or so a day wouldn't hurt anyone.

Well, except the ones eaten.

Luna sighed. As food, the Ryoudan was off limits. "Orion, don't eat Phinx."

"Yeah. Don't eat me, stupid cat!"

"He's an idiot," Luna continued. "You are what you eat, so if you eat Phinx, who has no more than two brain cells, you'll become stupid too."

"OI!"

Feitan snickered. Huginn and Muninn mimicked the sound, and the Ryoudan could see Phinx growing angrier and angrier with each millisecond.

"Oi!" Phinx repeated. "You wanna die?!"

"Tch. As if you can kill me," Feitan retorted.

"Phinx," Chrollo said, finally regaining his senses. "We all know you are as smart as an amoeba. Settle down."

"Thank you," Phinx huffed with satisfaction.

Chrollo blinked. "Point proven."

"Danchou, what are we stealing this time?" Uvo asked eagerly, taking the hint that they were back on track.

"Things from the underground auction."

"Which ones?" Shalnark asked.

"Ancient texts? Danchou likes books, after all," Machi said.

"No, it's probably games," Feitan cut in. "The most expensive ones in the world are for sale."

"Shouldn't it be gold and jewels?" Nobunaga drawled. "It's the basics."

"There's a lot of expensive art for sale," Luna suggested. She frowned, thinking for a long moment. "A lot of human parts too. Eyeballs, livers, hearts, body fluids…"

"What the hell are we going to do with _body parts_?" Phinx sneered.

"The same thing we do with everything else we steal. Admire them for a few days, get sick of them, and sell them," Luna retorted.

"Admire _body parts_?!"

Luna shrugged. "They're pretty interesting. Body fluids are quite colourful and pretty to look at, as long as you don't have to smell them."

Feitan smiled with satisfaction. Finally, someone understood him. There was a reason he became a torture expert, you know. Well, other than the part where torture could satisfy his sadistic desire to inflict as much pain as possible on a person. Before Phinx could recoil in disgust, Chrollo stood and interrupted him.

"Everything," Chrollo smiled. "We're taking everything up for auction."

"Kill everyone it is," Luna said.

"What did you expect? With everyone gathered, there's no way people stay alive," Feitan said.

"But then simply slaughtering everyone is a little… simple?" Luna said. "They won't be hiring anybody strong. Everyone's going to be so weak that we don't need to put in any effort."

"You have my permission," Chrollo said. "Kill them. Kill everyone who gets in our way."


	46. Chapter 46

Thanks for faving/following: flippityflip, Juliedoo, Tiny Potato believes, mangareaderanimewatcher, ThreeDarkAngels, Joldino-Sidestreaker, RedBelladonna101, Allucard Bellsing, GoldenWingedAngel, Dokubodaminabo, and chibi-no-baka.

* * *

"Hmm… It's the first time I've seen your face… You know, you're kind of cute," Luna commented.

Hisoka's fingers twitched with the desire to slaughter. His mild gaze turned murderous as he glared at the recipient of the complement. She never complemented _him_ , even when he was naked in front of her! So why did that little… _creature_ receive such nice words when all he did was bare his face?!

"Pfft," Phinx snickered, laughing silently on the look of his fellow Spider's face.

"Cute," Feitan said in a vacant monotone.

"Cute," Luna confirmed. "In a gothic, murderous way. I think it's the eyes."

That somewhat mollified him. He had never been called 'cute' in his life, and he was pretty sure it wasn't a good thing for a man to be called 'cute', but if he was 'murderously cute', then it was probably fine.

"Let's go," Phinx growled.

Luna stared blankly at him. "What are you talking about? I'm staying here with Chrollo."

"Hah? You're our pet! You obey our orders!"

"I stay with Chrollo," Luna crossed her arms stubbornly.

She was regretting those words dearly now. Well, not exactly. She would rather stick near Chrollo, especially when Hisoka was around. And it wasn't like the others got any loot, not like she cared about the goods. But did that mean she had to be so _bored_?

There was nothing to do. _Nothing_. Chrollo had his books and Hisoka had his cards—even though he wasn't playing with them—but the other two were sitting around like Luna.

It was kind of awkward to just sit around, especially after Chrollo had said such cool things…

Luna sighed slightly, the motion mirrored by Orion. Her eyes shifted up. Why in the world was the cat's ridiculously large and heavy head on top of hers anyways? The five of them probably made a strange picture—Chrollo sitting on Orion's back, the two ravens on the panteron's head, Luna reclining against Orion's chest, and his head resting lazily on top of hers—not that anyone would dare laugh.

Hisoka did look very amused, though.

Luna's gaze shifted to the door, hoping that someone would walk through and end her boredom. The Ryoudan's temporary base was deadly silent save for the turning of pages and Pakunoda filing her nails. There was _nothing_ to do. The others had all gone to the auction, killed a bunch of people, and ended up with no loot. Luna was _this_ close to going to find Phinx and picking a fight with him just for the heck of it—again.

Her eyes, of course, wandered to the most colourful person in the room—Hisoka. He should be able to entertain her. She had suffered through the role of relieving his boredom several times in the past, so shouldn't he return the favour?

"Hisoka, entertain me," Luna said.

"Hmm?" Hisoka raised an eyebrow, a sly smile on his face. "How?"

"I don't know. There should be something you could entertain me with. You took the hunter exam again, right?"

"Here. You can stare at this." Then Hisoka's expression lit up. "Ah, I just remembered. I have a meeting with someone today."

Luna blinked, her expression blank as she stared at the card Hisoka flicked her way. "This is your hunter card—hey, you're not running away, are you?"

"I don't mind. Just be back by 6 pm tomorrow," Chrollo replied, his eyes never leaving the page. He smiled. "Up to some mischief, Hisoka?"

"Of course," Hisoka purred. "Chibi-chan, don't lose my license."

 _Jiiiiiiiii…_

Luna stared at Hisoka's retreating back without blinking, pouting slightly as she proceeded to forget about Hisoka's license in her hand. He was _definitely_ up to something. He looked too satisfied for someone who hadn't gotten any action. Luna could sense his bloodlust churning under the surface, yet it didn't seem like he was going out to fight anybody. He knew as well as the others remaining in the base that they would get to kill someone eventually, if only because the Ryoudan never did anything without leaving behind a mountain of corpses.

The assassin shifted uncomfortably, and it had nothing to do with the crick in her neck, courtesy of a certain oversized cat. Things never ended well when Hisoka was plotting something.

And Uvo's 'Judas' comment somehow unsettled her.

"Chrollo, should I follow him?"

"Hm?" The man hummed absently, the faint smile still sitting on his face. "It shouldn't be necessary."

"But it's _Hisoka_. The person he wants to fight more than anybody else in the world is you."

"Mrow," Orion agreed.

"And you'll protect me, right?" Chrollo said rhetorically. "Even if someone gets past you, I'm not so weak that I would get killed so easily."

Luna fell into a thoughtful silence for a brief moment before she nodded resolutely. "I won't let you die again. I'll protect you this time."

Chrollo blinked, his large eyes studying his assassin. 'This time'? 'Again'? As far as he knew, he had never died before. He _had_ come close to it a few times, before he met the girl, but unless someone had killed him, altered his memories, and revived him, he was quite alive.

Hmm… But then again, there _was_ the question of the butterfly and the dream… Who was to say that Chrollo wasn't actually dead, and dreaming about all this? Reincarnation was another theory as well. Or perhaps Chrollo was in a twisted version of heaven—or a heavenly hell for powerful, twisted people.

Not that Chrollo thought he was twisted, of course. All his actions made perfect sense. Kill or be killed, Darwin's theory of evolution, survival of the strongest, and finders keepers. Of course, the definition of 'finding' was relative.

"Morou?" Chrollo frowned. "I didn't know that."

Luna stared blankly at Chrollo, who nodded at the license she held. She blinked once, and then once again as she took in the new information. "Hisoka has a surname?"

"I take it you never knew," Chrollo said drily.

Luna frowned. "What kind of name is Morou?"

Chrollo raised an eyebrow. "A surname. Just like Valdis and Lucilfer."

"No," Luna argued. "Valdis is a perfectly respectable goddess of the dead, and Lucilfer is a fitting slur of Lucifer and pilfer. Morou, on the other hand, is a senseless word."

It was Chrollo's turn to stare blankly at her. Was she so bored that she could start up a debate about _names_ of all things?

… It was a good point, though. His name did suit him, and her name suited her. Hisoka's name suited the magician quite well, except the surname didn't make any sense. It was just so… _normal_. It was like Hisoka being a Smith or, or a Tanaka. It was a name for the strange species called 'office workers', who actually went to work and went home afterwards, completely separating business and private life.

"…Hisoka needs a new name," Chrollo conceded.

Of all the things Hisoka expected to hear when he returned to the Ryoudan's temporary base, the words that came out of Luna's mouth were not among them.

"Hisoka, which surname would you prefer, Hentaimagi, or Freya?"

* * *

Freya: Norse goddess associated with love, beauty, magic, sacrifice, war, death, sexuality


	47. Chapter 47

Thanks for faving/following: GhostyKitty, Kororo-pudding, Silvairene, BloodyCamellia, 07Eve, jennibee14, Haninna, and Storytelling-Doll.

laxusdrayer2324: Feitan and Chrollo are probably the only Ryoudan members Luna would consider 'friends'. Nobunaga and Uvo get along with her too, and Phinx is becoming her source of amusement, but the rest are too straight laced. They'll be meeting Gon and Killua once the two boys get kidnapped. Hentaimagi, by the way, is hentai ('perverted'), and magi is short for magician. So 'perverted magician' as a surname... Kind of suits him, but not very scary, right? ^.^

SoulXHunter: Hmmm... Her interaction with Gon and Killua will have to happen as I write. I doubt Gon would be very friendly, since she is a part of the Ryoudan, and Killua... Not quite sure about Killua.

Tiny potato believes: Thanks. Feitan seems like he would be a lot of fun to write. A serious, sadistic, ticking time bomb, but he has his childish moments too.

* * *

" _Luna_ ," Chrollo said, a hint of warning in his tone.

Any normal person—meaning the Ryoudan members, of course—would have backed down, but Luna remained stubborn. She really didn't like leaving Chrollo's side for any prolonged period of time. It couldn't be helped during the Hunter Exam, and during the period afterwards, but it was still barely acceptable considering that Chrollo was _safe_ and untraceable. On a job with Hisoka and mafia and Hisoka and assassins and Hisoka around, there was no way she was letting Chrollo go off on his own.

Just because she liked Hisoka didn't mean that she trusted him with Chrollo's life.

"I shouldn't have opened that stupid hunter website for you," Luna muttered under her breath, ignoring the fact that there were two other hunters in the Ryoudan, and one was perfectly willing to do whatever his danchou asked of him.

"It's not like I'm going into a nest of assassins. They don't know my face, remember?" Chrollo said with forced patience. "I am _only_ going to steal Neon Nostrade's abilities."

 _Only_ , he says. Just like Hisoka _only_ nicked Kaido's jugular vein, and Luna _only_ killed a thousand people, give or take a hundred. There was no ' _only_ ' when the Ryoudan got involved.

"I'll be wearing a disguise," Chrollo said.

Luna sighed and reluctantly nodded.

Chrollo vanished for a moment, and she could hear clothes shuffling. When he stepped out from his impromptu changing room, Luna couldn't help but squeal, a faint smile on her face. Since the first time she saw him like that, she preferred his hair like this.

She had no qualms against telling him that either. "Chrollo! You look adorable!"

That shocked Hisoka. The word 'adorable' shouldn't have been in her vocabulary. Hearing that word come out of her mouth… Hisoka frowned. Was it really Luna? It had to be an imposter. Luna would never say something like that. And she _definitely_ wouldn't stare at anyone like a star struck—oh. Never mind.

It was _Chrollo_. _Everybody_ would be star struck if they saw _Chrollo_.

Said man's lips twitched wryly. Adorable… Not the best compliment for a man, but he would take it. "I'll be leaving now."

Luna nodded. Chrollo glanced over his shoulder once, making sure she wasn't going to follow him, before he vanished out the door. Luna stood perfectly still for a moment, and the Ryoudan members still in the base watched her, waiting for her to fade into the shadows or something. When she did move, she simply pointed at the door.

"Huginn, follow him. Report back if there's any trouble," she ordered.

With a squawk of agreement, the bird took off.

Feitan made a noise of approval. Danchou had ordered them all _not_ to follow him. It made everyone uncomfortable, of course. They didn't like their danchou going off alone. But since the girl sent a raven to monitor their danchou, they would at least know if he got himself into a mess, and they could go get him out of it any time.

There was a moment of absolute silence as the Ryoudan members had no idea what they should do, a little like a headless chicken. Therefore, it was a relief when four familiar nen signatures and two unfamiliar ones approached.

"Yo, we're back," Nobunaga drawled.

The Spiders' eyes shot to the two children. Various thoughts ran through their heads, but the main one was, ' _what the heck?'_

"Really, it isn't the best time to bring illegitimate children back—" Luna began.

"That's not it!" Nobunaga barked.

"Brats that small won't sell for a lot of money. And they don't look like they're from rich families either," Feitan pointed out.

"They're not kidnapped!" Nobunaga shouted with exasperation.

"Ah—" the boy gasped, eyes lighting up with recognition.

Luna's eyes followed his gaze quickly, to find Hisoka. Her eyes narrowed, and Hisoka's eyes twinkled with sly mischief. His lips twitched, and she could bet anything that he knew those two.

"You know someone here?" Nobunaga asked.

"Ah—the woman from last time," Killua exclaimed.

"Shizuku, you know them?"

"No."

"Ah," Feitan said dismissively. "The boys from arm wrestling."

"Who?" Shizuku asked, noting that everybody was staring at her.

"The boy who beat you at arm wrestling two days ago," Franklin clarified.

"I don't remember anything like that," Shizuku said. "I wouldn't lose. Not to a kid."

"You were using your right hand, though…" Franklin said.

"Why would I do that? I'm left handed," Shizuku said.

"Don't bother. Once she forgets something, she'll never remember," Feitan sighed.

"Arm wrestling, huh?" Nobunaga pondered. "Hey, kid, how 'bout a round?"

Luna stared blankly at the group as they arranged a stage for Nobunaga and the boy to arm wrestle. Nobunaga vs a twelve year old brat. And they called themselves adults…

Her eyes shifted to the white haired boy, and she promptly tuned the others out of her mind. She frowned lightly. He seemed familiar, somehow. She was quite sure she had never met him before. Something told her that she would remember him if she had. But she had met someone similar to him, or she wouldn't have that sense of déjà vu.

"Hey," Luna said.

The boy tore his gaze from his friend's bleeding hand, glanced around, and pointed at himself with a childlike look of 'who, me?'

"You," Luna clarified. "White haired boy. Who are you?"

He thought for a second, then smirked. "Isn't it rude to ask someone's name without giving your own first?"

"I asked first. And I can kill you at any time," Luna answered.

A dark expression crossed his face, his eyes ice cold, before it returned to a calm, cheeky smile. "Killua."

Luna frowned. Killua. She knew that name… Then it hit. "Ah."

"You know him?" Feitan asked, one of the few who had been paying more attention to their conversation than the one sided arm wrestling. But before she could answer, Feitan turned to the sobbing Nobunaga and snapped, "Stop crying already!"

"Uvo was the strongest," Nobunaga sniffed once again before he turned his grief to hate. "I'll find the chain user. I swear, no matter what, no matter how many people I have to kill, I'll find that bastard and tear him to pieces for Uvo."

"We know, already," Phinx retorted, also sick of the man's snivelling, more like a woman whining for a dead lover than a man who lost his fighting partner and friend.

"The bastard," Nobunaga ignored Phinx.

"Oi, don't ignore me, damn it!"

"He has a grudge against us. And the Nostrade's hired him recently," Nobunaga growled. "I don't remember any bastard that was strong enough to kill Uvo amongst those who hate us. You might not know him directly, but you should have heard stories! Think carefully…"

"I don't know! Even if I did, I wouldn't tell a bastard like you. You would cry for a friend? Then spare even a little for the people you've killed!"

A sudden burst of nen, the sound of a hand slamming violently down, and all the Spiders moved. Feitan was on the dark haired boy, and Luna was on Killua in a moment. Seeing that the fastest members of the Ryoudan had moved, the others settled, tense, but motionless. Hisoka sauntered to Killua and placed a card at his throat.

"Relax, Chibi-chan, I've got him," Hisoka cooed softly.

Luna glared at him, and Killua felt a shiver run up his spine. Although they were standing with the rest of the Ryoudan and Gon, it felt like they were the only ones there. Neither person radiated nen, but Killua could feel their bloodlust clear as day. His breath caught. A blade bit into his throat, and a drop of blood ran down his skin. Hisoka's bloodlust spiked.

"As I thought. You know them," Luna said softly.


	48. Chapter 48

Hisoka could see her eyes darken, the blue fading into pure black. His tongue flicked across his lower lip in delight. If he pushed her just a little more, she would attack him.

"Do they have a connection to the Chain User?" Luna asked. "To Chrollo?"

Killua almost stiffened, but even that miniscule action would get him killed. Even worse, it would get Gon killed. He stayed completely still, keeping his breathing in the same rhythm as before. Hisoka thought for a moment. If he said yes…

"No. They've never met Chrollo. They're only fruits I met at the Hunter Exam."

For a frightening moment, Luna studied him, searching for any sign of a lie. Finally she sighed and took a step back. He wasn't lying about the boys, at least. But he had inadvertently told her something he didn't want her to know. He knew who the chain user was.

Her eyes narrowed. Or had Hisoka _wanted_ her to know that?

Hisoka shuddered with glee. She looked like she wanted to murder him right then. He already knew she was suspicious of him. She knew his personality and his desires almost as well as he did, and on top of that, she was as loyal to Chrollo as the real members of the Ryoudan. She wouldn't sit still and let anybody kill Chrollo. Not even Hisoka.

"Serious fights aren't allowed," Shizuku reminded Nobunaga.

"I know already," Nobunaga tossed a coin.

"Tails," Feitan said.

"Heads," Nobunaga declared, and checked the coin. "Heads."

With a huff, Feitan let the boy go. 'Gon' leapt back, only to bump into Luna. Staring up into those ice cold eyes, even Gon felt more than a little unease.

"So since they're unrelated, and Pakunoda already checked them, we can let them go, right?" Franklin asked.

"Our target is only the chain user. It's better to directly go for the Nostrade Family," Shalnark said. "Better not to bother with anyone else."

Luna frowned.

"Good for you, kids," Feitan said, almost mockingly.

"No. We're not letting them go," Nobunaga interrupted. "I want them to join the Spiders."

Luna sighed and walked towards the blonde hunter and dark haired torturer. "Shalnark, Feitan."

"Hm?" Feitan asked.

"You said to ignore everyone but the chain user," Luna said. "But if he could kill Uvo, he's not that easy to deal with."

"You have a suggestion?" Shalnark asked.

Luna nodded. "Shalnark, you have a list of everyone in the Nostrade Family, right?"

Shalnark hummed thoughtfully, and handed her the stack of papers, before passing them out to the rest. "This is from the Hunter Website. Uvo said he wasn't on the list, though."

"Ah, I killed this guy. Cross out the one on the top left," Phinx said.

"If the chain user isn't among them, we need information," Shalnark said. "Go out in pairs and find someone who knows something."

Luna scanned the sheets with a light frown. "Wouldn't it be easier just to kill everyone around?"

"Hou, that's a nice idea," Phinx smirked.

"Not randomly," she said quickly, before Phinx could get into his head that they should go on a rampage. "Kill off every Nostrade hired dog in the auction halls. The chain user would have to appear, then. And since he has a grudge against the Spiders, he will definitely appear before one of us with his chains."

"I see. If we simply kill all of them, the chain user is more likely to die," Feitan agreed.

"How could you do something so cruel?!" Gon shouted.

"Cruel?" Luna raised an eyebrow, jet black eyes staring straight into his. "Why don't you ask your precious friend over there how many people _he's_ killed before?"

"Killua is different from you!"

The Ryoudan's eyes shot to Killua, a little curious. That little brat had killed people before?

"So you do know who he is?" Phinx asked, his tone almost accusing.

"Killua Zoldyck, the prodigal son of the Zoldyck family. He's an assassin who kills for money," Luna replied in a deadpan, then turned to Gon again. "Just because he's your friend doesn't mean he's innocent."

"He doesn't anymore. He's not like you," Gon repeated, glaring fiercely at her.

She closed her eyes and took a step closer and another, and right before the Ryoudan's eyes, she vanished. They blinked, and she stood behind the two boys, a blade at their throats.

"Now that my family is dead, naïve, self-righteous little brats like you are the type I hate the most," Luna said, and even though her voice was soft, it dripped with lethal poison. "And on top of that, Uvo is dead, and Chrollo left without taking me along. So I'm really not in a good mood right now."

They were going to get killed. They could feel it all the way to their bones. If they moved a muscle, or even so much as breathed, they would die. Even after they moved away, they stood frozen, barely breathing.

"Oh? As expected," Feitan praised. "You're good."

"Feitan, want to team up with me?" Luna asked.

Hisoka pouted. So she was annoyed at him? How petty… Just because he wanted to kill Chrollo didn't mean that she could ignore him like that. And he _might_ have indirectly killed Uvo by sharing information about the Ryoudan with Kurapika. And he _might_ have betrayed the Spiders, all because he wanted to fight and kill Chrollo, the man he knew Luna would die for…

Okay, so she did have a reason to be pissed at him. That didn't mean she could _ignore_ him and pair up with Feitan.

"Sure," Feitan said.

Steadily everyone moved to pair up, heading out as they found their ideal partners.

"Oi, I don't have a partner," Phinx scowled.

"Neither do I," Machi said.

"Just group with whoever's left," Shalnark said before he, too, left.

"But there's nobody but Nobu—" Phinx scowled. He was _not_ staying to babysit some brats, and everyone had partnered off except him.

He would have to join a pair to form a trio—where the _heck_ was everyone?! Phinx's eyes shifted to Hisoka, who smiled back. He shuddered. Then he glanced at Feitan and Luna, the two already disappearing out the door. Considering that they were dressed in black, if he lost them it would be nigh impossible to find them again. He glanced at Hisoka once again. There was a clear winner there.

"Oi, Feitan, wait up!"

Feitan walked a little faster when he heard the blonde's voice, Luna following suit. Phinx's heavy footsteps pounded against the ground as he ran to catch up, the amount of noise he made a stark contrast to the silence of the two with raven hair.

"You little runts! You were trying to leave me behind!" Phinx growled.

"Of course we weren't," Luna said.

"If we were, we would have run," Feitan agreed.

"And you would never have been able to catch up with us," Luna finished.

"You could have partnered with Orion, you know," Feitan pointed out.

Phinx felt a shiver run up his spine as golden eyes stared at his skull. He knew he shouldn't turn around, but he just had to. And of course, an oversized cat with fangs practically the size of his arm stared back at him.

"Why doesn't _she_ partner with him?! He's _her_ cat!" Phinx shouted.

"The big bad sphinx is afraid of a little cat," Feitan snickered.

"Of course he is. He could never defeat a _cat_ ," Luna smirked. "He's afraid of getting scratched."

"Like hell I'm scared of that oversized kitten!" Phinx sneered. "Come on, you stupid cat."

He stalked off, Orion following behind him obediently. The two could hear curse words floating around Phinx, the man swearing hard enough to make a sailor blush. Feitan shrugged and kept walking, Luna following closely behind.

"AAARRGGHHH!"

The scream stopped them both in their tracks. The thundering towards them left no questions about who was running like a stampede of elephants. Phinx emerged, face pale and breathing heavily, Orion close behind, looking as innocent as he could.

Phinx glared at Luna, pointing accusingly at Orion. "That thing tried to taste me!"


	49. Chapter 49

Thanks for faving/following: Yusuke Kurosaki, sachen150, Wolvesnightmare, Liedes, FairyPiece1, kouyuu2510, SabishiiSekkai, and xxhikagexx.

AkaNeko-chan: Thanks! Hisoka hasn't creeped anyone out lately, so he needs to do some of that. And Luna wouldn't be creeped out by him too easily. Feitan needs friends :)

Drake: Thanks!

Guest: I'm glad you think so. I want to write more, but I tend to procrastinate :P

Liedes: Haha. I hope you keep reading

SoulXHunter: A bashful sailor? Now that's something. Luna does not know Killua personally, but she knows the Zoldycks. And of course, having been the (former) rival assassin family, the Valdis' always keep track of the Zoldycks and vice versa. Therefore, she knows about Killua's existence and his name. It doesn't hurt that Kil kind of resembles his father, white hair and all. Just a lot cuter. Feitan and Luna, plus an extra now. Imagining their team walking together, I get the image of 'black' (Feitan), 'black' (Luna), 'black' (Orion), and then 'what the heck is that splotch of color doing there?' (Phinx)

laxusdrayer2324: I prefer Chrollo with his hair down. He's so cute like that! With his hair slicked back, he's all 'mafia' and 'intimidating'. Still cute, but in a kind of creepy way. Phinx didn't pair up with Machi because... I have no idea, actually. Hisoka just gave Machi that creepy smile, so it was like Hisoka would go along with her whether Phinx partnered with her or not. And of course, Phinx didn't want to be anywhere near Hisoka, so he chose Team Luna and Feitan. Hisoka, by the way, probably didn't stick to Luna because she knew what he was up to and was watching him too closely, and he would have more freedom moving with Machi.

* * *

"Why can't we leave that slow idiot behind?" Luna grumbled as she cut off two heads at once, and shot forward to escape the blood.

"I want to get to danchou quickly too," Feitan agreed, shooting a dirty look at Phinx.

It took 0.8 seconds for Phinx to twist necks 180 degrees. It took only 0.4 seconds for Feitan and Luna to behead people. That meant Phinx was a whole _0.4 seconds_ slower. True, it was a lot cleaner than punching a hole through everybody, but at that rate, they would never reach Chrollo.

With the screams and the sirens wailing, the two in black had no doubt that the rest of the Ryoudan were going wild, just as Chrollo ordered them to. At the same time, it meant they were more preoccupied with killing everyone than reaching their leader. Luna did _not_ like Chrollo being _alone_ in the mess, even if her ravens hadn't signalled that he was in any danger.

"SQUAWK!"

She spoke too soon.

Luna's eyes turned upwards, to see Muninn fluffing his feathers out as he circled above the assassin, obviously agitated. His eyes were trained on the building in the distance, the raven's cries growing increasingly threatening, as if he was trying to intimidate a threat he knew was far too strong.

Unseen by Luna, Huginn mirrored Muninn's actions as he watched the Zoldycks walk into the building, and heard the hired dogs whisper the name in terror and revulsion. He didn't recognize the two, of course. He had never seen them before, after all. But he could sense the power radiating from the two assassins, and he knew immediately that they were dangerous. And if the mafia had hired _two_ people that deadly, then there could be no target but the Ryoudan. Chrollo was in danger.

His other half, of course, could sense Huginn's feelings, could hear Huginn's thoughts.

"Zoldycks!" Muninn finally screeched.

Luna stopped short, eyes wide. "You… You talk."

"Zoldycks, ZOLDYCKS!" Muninn screamed, disbelief filling his tiny body.

Chrollo was in danger, and the girl was standing still in the middle of the road, fascinated that the birds could _talk_? Huginn and Muninn could always talk! They were the ravens of Odin, for goodness sakes!

Even though he was a clever bird that could remember all of a day's events all around the world, Muninn was still a bird, and therefore had a bird's brain. It temporarily slipped his mind that he had never spoken in front of Luna, therefore she never knew he could speak.

"Chrollo! Zoldycks!" Muninn squawked urgently, hoping his words could shock the daydreaming Luna back to reality.

It took Orion's giant paw stepping on her foot for her to wake up. Luna yelped and jumped back, and the raven's words _finally_ registered in her mind. Her eyes darkened and her expression turned blank, and the bird shuddered, opting to land on Orion's head instead of her shoulder as he originally planned. His mistress was _scary_ when pissed.

"Feitan," Luna said softly, monotone. "There are Zoldycks in the building."

Now _that_ was the reaction Muninn had expected when he shouted the Zoldyck name the first time. Feitan recoiled violently, face twisted in fury. And rather than quickly beheading his next victims, he crushed their arms first, before cutting their bellies open so their innards would spill out and they would bleed to death.

" _What_?!" Feitan snarled.

"I'm going ahead," Luna said.

"Wait, I'm coming too—" Feitan growled, chasing her retreating back, but it was too late.

Her figure disappeared right before his eyes, and the enemy—read 'still living and therefore didn't know they were dead yet'—closed in, blocking the path. Feitan scowled. The assassin was lucky she had the skills to disappear and slide past others' eyes. He wanted that same skill now. If he had to fight his way through, he wouldn't be able to catch up.

Phinx, oblivious, just kept twisting necks as he got closer and closer to the muttering Feitan—and he quickly backed away, eyes wide. "Wait… Don't do that here. Oi, Feitan, you listening to me?!"

It was obvious that the short male was _not,_ in fact, listening.

"Shit," Phinx swore. Escape. If he didn't find a way to get as far from Feitan as possible, _he_ would be dead. "Oi, cat! Come on! We have to run!"

"Mrowr?" Orion asked innocently, batting another three gunmen aside.

"Feitan's going to explode!"

The stare Orion gave Phinx was almost enough for the man to slaughter the cat. Why the hell was the cat looking down on him?! He was the human. He was the _powerful_ human. And that thing was just an oversized cat! The cat did not have the right to look like Phinx as if he was out of his mind, and belonged in the loony bin!

Well, actually… Phinx thought for a moment. All of the Spiders probably should get shut up somewhere far away, where they couldn't do any harm. It wasn't like they couldn't get _out_ any time they wanted, and it could be an interesting experience to see how long it took to turn a high security fortress into rubble from the inside.

And _Feitan was glowing_.

"Holy shit," Phinx gasped. He promptly hightailed it, stepping on corpses and not giving a damn that his shoes were getting bloody.

Of course, seeing Phinx actually _run_ , Orion followed suit.

His foot caught. His foot _caught_! Phinx swore up a storm, glancing back urgently at the short Spider. He was getting brighter and brighter, and Phinx still had his foot stuck in someone's stomach. Phinx growled, tore his foot out of his shoe, and kept running.

"Wait up, you stupid cat!" Phinx shouted.

Almost. Just another second, and Phinx would be out of range of _this_ attack…

 _BOOM!_

Phinx dove, hands covering his head, only to stop mid dive. Orion's teeth closed around the back of his shirt as the panteron started running again. Phinx stared blankly at the passing scenery. Was the cat _saving him_? Then he scowled. He didn't need a cat's pity!

And then, of course, just as the attack rushed them, Orion slid to a stop, turned, and dangled Phinx in the air in front of him.

The attack missed the man's nose by a hair.

"You…" Phinx began, before he started thrashing, outraged. "You used me as a shield! You shitty cat! I'm going to turn you into steak! Just watch. I'll roast you and eat you!"

"Mrowr," Orion said smugly as he dropped Phinx to the ground with an undignified thump, before turning and practically hopping over the ashes towards Feitan.

" _What_ did you just call me?! Oi, get back here you stupid cat!" Phinx roared. "Don't you dare insult me! You're just a cat!"

At that, Orion paused, shot a dirty look over his shoulder, and turned with a huff, flicking his tail at Phinx. Said man screamed wordlessly, his brain overheating and shutting down with the attempt to think of appropriate words to insult the cat.

"Hmph. Idiot," Feitan rolled his eyes, and started walking forward, Orion obediently following a step behind.

Phinx's eyes bulged as he watched Feitan and Orion step daintily over the ashes, walking calmly through the wasteland Feitan's attack created. He got shown up by a _cat_. Phinx scowled.

Their slaughter was a requiem for their dead comrade.

And Uvo was _definitely_ laughing his ass off at Phinx.


	50. Chapter 50

"Chrollo!" Luna gasped.

The man turned calmly and blinked, confused as to why his pet assassin was rushing in as if the world was ending. She scanned him up and down, looking for even a hint of an injury. There had better not even be a scratch on him, or else.

Honestly, the scan would have worked better if she had x-ray vision.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the ability to see through clothes, and she wasn't about to ask Chrollo to strip. Therefore, she had to settle with making sure Chrollo didn't have any of his own blood on his clothes. Finally she nodded with satisfaction, relaxing just a smidgen.

"We need to get out of here," she said firmly.

Chrollo blinked again, cocking his head slightly in a silent question.

"Zoldycks."

Luna shifted nervously, eyes darting. She was more than a little relieved not to find the Zoldycks in this room. Quite frankly, their presence was overwhelming, encompassing enough of the building that she couldn't tell _where_ they were. And that didn't settle well with her, especially considering that they probably knew exactly where Chrollo was.

"Ah."

There was a long silence as Luna digested the information. Chrollo watched with interest as she went completely still and her expression completely blanked out, to the point where he could put her in a museum with all the dolls, and she wouldn't stand out at all.

"Ah?" Was what she finally said.

"Ah," Chrollo confirmed with a miniscule smile. He could practically see the steam coming from her ears. Whether it was from anger or confusion, he didn't know yet.

"You… knew," Luna said.

Chrollo studied her face closely, and finding no hurt there, he replied, "Yes. More precisely, I knew they would come. As for _when_ , I was not quite sure."

She scowled, the expression forming slowly but surely on her face. "And you left _alone_? Are you an _idiot_?"

The leader of the Spiders recoiled in surprise. It was the first time anybody had asked him that. And despite that he had been called worse names—'son of a fungal infection', 'spongy cow turd', and 'oversized dung beetle' had been some of the more interesting ones—Chrollo felt more than a little insulted.

He was _not_ an idiot, thank you very much. His brain capacity was quite large, and he was quite clever and witty, if he could say so himself.

Therefore, as someone who takes pride in his brainpower, he took a second to calm down and acknowledge where his Valdis assassin came from. "I am sure I can take care of a Zoldyck."

"Of course," Luna said. "Which one, Killua?"

All right, Chrollo was not appreciating the sarcasm. Not that he had the time to say so before two Zoldycks walked in, their auras blaring and killing intent _leaking_. Luna jumped to attention, weapons in hand and in a fighting stance in front of Chrollo before the Zoldycks even registered her presence.

"It's been a long time," Chrollo said.

"So you remember me," Silva commented.

"How could I forget? You killed one of my comrades," Chrollo replied.

"It wasn't easy," Silva said, even as the two assassins started walking forward.

Luna tensed. "Don't come any closer."

The two Zoldycks paused in their tracks, wondering how in the world they had missed the fact that there was someone else in the room. Had they been too focused on Chrollo? No. That couldn't be. No matter how hard they concentrated on someone, there was no way they would not take not of another presence.

It disconcerted them.

"You're the little Valdis," Silva said with a small frown, drawing her face from the depths of his memory.

Luna crouched even lower, every nerve tingling, every cell alert and aware. Of all the Zoldycks who came, the two just _had_ to be Silva and Zeno. She didn't stand a chance. Couldn't they have made things easier by sending Illumi and Zeno, or Illumi and Silva? Luna knew for a fact that the Zoldycks wouldn't have let their other family members come take care of the Ryoudan, considering their strength, but to present their trump cards…

It didn't matter. She would have preferred to fight Illumi—Illumi may or may not still be stronger than her, and if Chrollo got serious he could take care of either the Zoldyck old man or the Zoldyck geezer—but since she didn't have a choice as to _which_ Zoldyck she had to fight, she would protect Chrollo even if she died.

"Oh?" Zeno said. His eyes turned to her, and Luna fought the urge to _run_. "And here I thought they were all wiped out."

"Well, someone had to do the 'wiping out'," Chrollo said amiably, drawing the attention back to him.

It didn't work. Zeno's eyes continued to bore holes into Luna. "I see. Well, it brought us a lot more business."

"Hm. I didn't think you were the type to hire assassins as bodyguards," Silva addressed Chrollo.

"She's not a Spider, if that's what you're asking," Chrollo replied as he jumped down from the stage.

Luna glanced back at him. "Chrollo—"

"Two on two sounds fair, doesn't it?" Chrollo said lightly.

" _Chrollo_ ," Luna repeated, not sounding at all happy with that arrangement.

But Chrollo ignored her as he walked towards the Zoldycks, and Luna had to suppress the urge to attack him from behind to knock him out. She wanted to. Oh, all the gods of death and assassination, she wanted _so badly_ to just knock him out and dump him in a safe place, preferably a tower with no windows or doors on the moon, or under the ocean.

And then the Zoldycks were attacking, and Luna had no more time to think. Chrollo leapt into the air barely a millisecond after the Zoldycks did, and Luna followed half a millisecond later, intercepting Silva as he launched a kick at Chrollo. Never taking an eye off Chrollo, she dodged Silva's attacks, sliding past with the minimal movement. And when Zeno _cut Chrollo's face_ , Luna hissed, eyes turning obsidian black, her nen completely vanishing.

Silva paused, frowning. When the Zoldyck and Valdis families held the 'exchange your kids for a day', Luna had gone into zetsu the moment she met Silva. It didn't take him long to figure out that it meant she was going to hunt him, especially as he found a knife in his arm where it didn't belong.

Silva's memory wasn't wrong. The girl immediately took advantage from his pause and broke off from him, attacking Zeno from behind. The man couldn't blame his father for failing to notice—he was watching the girl, and even then she slid out of sight, turning invisible for a brief moment.

It was lucky that they were in a brightly lit room.

The moment Silva's eyes caught the girl once again, he intercepted, drawing her attention back to him. She hissed again, frustrated and furious. It was a good thing they hadn't sent Illumi, Silva thought as he ducked under a knife and swung out clawed hands. Even though the two were skilled in different areas—Illumi in fighting and the young Valdis in assassinating—the two were closely matched enough that it wouldn't have been strange for either to win.

Silva glanced at his father as he attacked over and over with nen blasts, and Chrollo dodged with those stolen abilities of his. They seemed to be holding out quite well, and— _thank goodness neither had gotten serious or else the building would be rubble_ —maybe he said that a little early.

"Chrollo!" Luna shouted.

A powerful blast that shook the auction halls exploded from where Zeno and Chrollo were fighting, and perhaps that justified Silva turning with his eyes wide toward the pile of rubble. He felt two nen signatures, of course, so he turned his attention back to playing with the little Valdis—

And holy shit, when had she set up those _knives_ flying at him from everywhere?

The Zoldyck dodged quickly, using his claws to deflect everything that he couldn't avoid, when he felt a shiver run down his spine. He spun on his heel, just in time to see the Valdis behind him, her knife mere centimeters from his throat.


	51. Chapter 51

Silva's hand shot out to grip the knife, preventing it from getting any closer to his skin. It didn't stop the flying knives—so they _were_ nen knives after all—from cutting into him. The tiny Valdis, of course, was easily overpowered, and Silva didn't need to strain to throw her halfway across the room. He held back, of course, or else she would have gone straight through a wall or three.

Luna rose quickly to her feet and charged, because she wouldn't be able to check on Chrollo until she took Silva down—only to falter when the ringing of a phone echoed through the large room.

Silva immediately straightened and he took out the phone. Luna blinked. Who the heck answered phone calls in the middle of the fight? And any good assassin knew that having a phone turned on made it oh so easy for the ringing to give you away and get you killed. Then again, Silva was powerful enough that it didn't really matter if he was noticed or not. After all, the Zoldycks were usually seen by their targets before they died, whereas Luna needed to remain invisible to survive.

Silva held up a large hand, and Luna blinked in confusion, before she shrugged and danced over the rubble until she stood near Chrollo's nen signature.

"Illumi?" Silva asked. "So you finished the job? I see."

Zeno burst out from under the rubble just as Luna lifted a large piece off Chrollo, and he emerged. "You don't need to kill me?"

"The Ten Dons hired us," Zeno said. "Now that they're all dead, you're no longer our target."

Chrollo smiled. "Is that so? How surprising. You won't get another chance like this."

He stood and brushed himself off.

If Zeno was the type to sneer, he would have. "Do you think we kill for pleasure? I refuse to kill or die for nothing. Assassins only kill for money. You can ask that little one over there." Then he took a look at Luna. "Or maybe not. That one's strange."

"Did you know I hired Illumi to assassinate the Ten Dons?" Chrollo asked.

At that, Luna recoiled as if she had been slapped. "Chrollo?"

He reached out a hand and pet her on the head, as if to silently say he would explain later.

"Of course. But that's irrelevant," Zeno replied. "We just do the job we're hired for."

"I see…"

"Your pet assassin seems discontent," Silva said. "Why didn't you tell her to do it? She has the skills."

Luna stared at Chrollo, and not for the first time, she reminded him of a small, cute animal. Chrollo laughed softly. "If I sent her off to assassinate the Ten Dons, who would keep people like you away from me? I only fought because there were _two_ of you. If only one of you came, Luna is strong enough to keep you distracted until Illumi called."

At that, Luna visibly relaxed, the hurt look receding from her eyes.

"Ne," Chrollo called out as Zeno started to walk away. "If we fought seriously, who would win?"

"Me, of course," Zeno smirked. "Unless you decide to actually try to kill me. Jeez. What a cheeky kid."

With that, the two Zoldycks walked towards the door, Chrollo watching Silva all the way. And when Silva paused, he couldn't help but tense.

"Valdis," Silva said.

Luna glanced up, a knife sliding into her hand as she sidled closer to Chrollo.

"Now I recall. You are not protecting him for money, are you?"

Luna's eyes narrowed, and even Zeno paused, glancing back at the small assassin and the Ryoudan's leader.

"Those two really look similar, don't they? They could even pass as twins," Silva said, and Luna's eyes widened. "Chrollo and _Nova_."

"Nova… That's a name I haven't heard for a while," Zeno's voice rasped as he walked out the door.

The moment the doors shut behind the two Zoldycks, Chrollo sat back down with a sigh, the rubble supporting him. He glanced over at Luna, mouth open to tell her to sit down and get some rest, but the words froze on his tongue, his eyes widening.

Luna trembled, teeth biting harshly on her lower lip, eyes wide and empty. No, Chrollo thought, frowning a little as he sat up, body tense. There were just too many emotions were flitting through her eyes to read.

"Luna?" Chrollo said cautiously.

She was upset, Chrollo thought, bewildered. What did you do when a girl was upset? If it was his Ryoudan he would tell them to go out and destroy something or steal something, but she wasn't exactly wired the same way. And oh, all the trash at Meteor City, she wasn't going to start _crying_ , was she? Chrollo, for all his smarts, had no idea how to deal with a crying assassin that resembled a cute little animal when she wasn't killing people. None of the books he read ever told him what to do in those circumstances.

"Luna?" Chrollo repeated. And then he said the only thing that came to his mind. "So you're not working for me for money?"

She shook her head almost violently. Well, he always had found it strange that, even though he paid her every month, with extra every time they stole something, the amount she made each year could come nowhere near what she could make assassinating people. The difference was similar to the difference between what the Ryoudan made every time they went out to rob something and what a pickpocket living in the slums made each day. If she had been working for money, she would have left long ago.

Chrollo reached out and tugged at her wrist, and the small pressure was enough to draw her down next to him. Alright. So she was sitting next to him, his hand was petting her head… What was he supposed to do next? Feed her a treat? Pet her until she purred and stopped being upset? Or maybe one of those toys with a long flexible stick and a feather on the end would work?

"Who is Nova?" And he nearly slapped himself. He was starting to think she was right when she called him an idiot.

She stiffened, but answered anyway. "Nova Valdis. My older brother."

"Ah."

Chrollo fell into an awkward silence, but continued to pet her head. She finally sighed and relaxed into him, and Chrollo relaxed as well. Thank goodness she didn't cry. If she had cried, he really wouldn't have known what to do. He didn't have food on him, after all, and he had no idea where he could steal that a toy like that.

They sat like that until the Ryoudan found them, and Chrollo stood, giving orders so they could start robbing the auction and continue playing the giant practical joke called the 'auction' on everybody.

And Chrollo waited until he was alone with Hisoka before he finally asked the one question he really wanted to know the answer to. "Hisoka."

"Hmm?"

Chrollo really needed to get used to the looks Hisoka gave him. He already felt the need to wash his innards out with soap, and Chrollo thought that if he received many more of those stares, he would gladly send the Ryoudan—read Hisoka—to rob the Zoldyck mansion.

"Do I resemble someone named Nova?"

"Aah," the shudder that ran through Hisoka's body was completely visible. "Nova."

"Well?" Chrollo asked, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly.

"Of course you do," Hisoka replied. "A lot stronger, and a lot more interesting, but almost a mirror copy."

Chrollo knew he shouldn't ask. He knew for a fact that he would regret asking. "Almost?"

Oh, radioactive rats, the _smile_ on Hisoka's face… "You _are_ a lot cuter. Or should I say… _adorable_?"


	52. Chapter 52

A/N: I'm _so_ sorry for not updating for so long! Writer's block and resume writing... Anybody who's thinking of working in Japan, _don't_. Handwriting resumes is a real pain. I wanna be a NEET...

Thanks for faving/following: patamon642, Chancellor S, KarmaBites, sachen150, Starawesomeness2, Nuricchi, Commander Yuki, CactusGranny, lunenus, DawnPirates, Lady La-sara, skycord1990, Enoona, Nuvola De Demone, Kawashima Sadako, TsukiBop, Nightsky1290, Fey Croix, EWOC, Gingerdementor106, chibicollecter, ucherny, Etherious Natsu Dragonil.

AkaNeko-chan: Yes, there will be more HisokaxLuna action soon, but she's kind of angry at him now. She'll stay angry for a while, but it will get fluffy again ^^.

GCLR: Haha! Thanks! It's not very realistic to _only_ like Hisoka, even if it's a Hisoka x OC story, because people have other relationships as well. I'm glad my story met your expectations :)

laxusdrayer2324: To us normal peope, 0.4 seconds doesn't matter. But when killing someone, well, Phinx is _slow_ compared to them. The crows spoke to Hisoka and Orion, but they never did to Luna. Knowing her, though, she was probably less 'freaking out' than 'overcome with happiness'? Illumi would probably never be 'easy', but compared to those two old men, fighting Illumi is like taking candy from a baby. And Killua _did_ freak out during the Hunter Exams, didn't he? Gon, on the other hand, is probably too dense to realize some people are too strong for him to defeat. I'm not sure there's that much to know about Luna's past. She's from an assassin family, and Chrollo already knows that. He also guessed that she massacred her family when she brought in her uncle for Feitan to torture. But I could try to think up some interesting things about her past. Key word is 'try'...

SoulXHunter: Zeno is a crafty old man :) I rewatched the episode where he fought Chrollo, and the expressions he makes are the best. It's nice how Orion acts more human, isn't it? And he considers Phinx on 'animal' level, while the others are on the 'I don't care' level or 'my mistress likes them so I'll respect them because they're also scary' level. It's fun to write about them because Orion is looking down on Phinx, and Phinx gets so pissed off about it.

* * *

She didn't know how they managed to leave without anyone seeing them. A group of thirteen people dressed nothing like the people who were attending the auction and some with blood stains on their clothes were quite conspicuous. It wasn't like they left through a hole in the wall or anything, because there were no holes in the wall, and no way to make one without raising a fuss.

Therefore they simply ran at top speed.

Luna was quite sure that the security cameras could catch them running by, but that was only if somebody noticed something and slowed down the video enough to actually see them. It was unlikely, of course, but there was still the risk. Considering that Chrollo intended for the Zoldycks to have killed him, there was no way to explain why Chrollo and the rest of the Ryoudan were healthy enough to run through the halls _after_ the fight against the Zoldycks, and _then_ end up dead outside.

"I really don't think that's a good idea…" Luna deadpanned, a little creeped out at seeing a dead Chrollo right next to a living one. "You're letting the world see your face. Shalnark isn't a good idea either. He's a hunter…"

Chrollo continued to frown as he tried to position his corpse in the most convincing way possible. Should the leg go like that? No, that was a little unnatural… There. Perfect. Now what would be a convincing fatal wound? There were enough minor injuries to make it look like a tough fight, but there was nothing he could do to make a fatal wound that looked like one the Zoldycks could have used to kill him. He would leave his eyes open, of course, just a little wider so it would look like he was shocked at his death. And now…

"Luna, please punch a hole in my corpse's chest," Chrollo said.

Luna flinched and backed away. "No. I'm not killing you. Not even a copy."

Before she could blink, a tall figure flew past her and lifted fake Chrollo by the throat, pressing him against the wall. The real Chrollo stood back, a little miffed that Hisoka had disturbed his arrangement, but also curious about what the magician was planning to do.

Hisoka punched. Chrollo almost flinched as his corpse made a very convincing squelch as Hisoka's fist went through its heart, partially shattering the wall behind it. Pursing his lips, Hisoka tugged his fist back out and dropped the fake Chrollo, letting the body collapse onto the ground and leaving a blood stain dragging down the wall. Chrollo had to admit, that looked very realistic. So realistic, in fact, that the Ryoudan and Luna were all bristling at the ease with which Hisoka killed the fake Chrollo.

"Why do I have to die too," Feitan muttered, cutting and arranging his own fake corpse.

"Rowr," Orion huffed, using a large paw to push a certain pharaoh copycat forward.

"That's true. You should kill Phinx instead," Luna agreed. "He's much slower, both physically and mentally."

"Hah? What's that supposed to mean?" Phinx snarled, quite sure he had been insulted. "And don't touch me, you stupid oversized rat chaser!"

Luna glanced at the bloody corpses of Machi, Shizuku, Shalnark, and Franklin, lying haphazardly like trash. Well, she thought, the fake corpses _were_ trash. She quite liked Feitan, though, and she didn't mind Shizuku. If someone _did_ really kill the Ryoudan like this, she would probably avenge Feitan and then massacre everyone who was even mildly related to Chrollo's murderer, including anyone that brushed past said murderer on the streets. She would build Chrollo the biggest funeral pyre anyone had ever seen, Luna swore.

"Chibi-chan, your bloodlust is leaking," Hisoka cooed.

Luna blinked twice before she noticed that all of the Ryoudan members were staring at her, most of them more than a little wary. She promptly sucked all her killing intent back in. Chrollo wasn't dead yet, and he would not die unless it was over her dead body.

"This is fine," Chrollo stretched and turned to Luna with a small smile. "Shall we go? I never had dinner."

He didn't. He was going to eat with Neon Nostrade, but after the fortune telling, they ended up conversing over wine, and never got a bite into their mouths. A pity, really. But then again, Chrollo was the man and therefore he had to pay, and that wine was expensive. He really preferred stealing things. Paying for something somehow felt wrong, like a violation of his morals.

Hisoka pouted. "I want to play with Chibi-chan…"

"And I want to keep Chrollo as far from you as possible," Luna shot back.

"Hmmm," Hisoka tapped a finger against his chin, pretending to think as his lips curled into a Cheshire smile. "I want equivalent exchange."

"You can't have Chrollo," Luna said automatically.

Hisoka blinked in mock hurt. "Not even as a threesome? Chibi-chan, why keep only one or the other when you can have both of us?"

In the background, Phinx choked, and Feitan punched him in the back to get him breathing properly again. Orion frowned. Feitan didn't punch hard enough. Therefore Orion helped Phinx breathe better by pushing him down and standing on his back. Luna barely glanced at the trio as Phinx let out a strangled scream and almost stopped breathing for eternity.

"You wouldn't mind, would you, _danchou_?" Hisoka persisted when Luna obviously began to ignore him in favour of watching Orion try to kill Phinx.

"Hisoka," Chrollo sighed, holding back a shudder.

He _never_ wanted to have sex with Hisoka. Ever. He had a feeling there would be too much blood and pain involved, and he was neither a masochist nor a sadist. He was practical. And sex with Hisoka was _not_ practical.

"I'll let you off for now if you kiss me," Hisoka said to Luna, his sly smile growing wider.

Luna only sighed. She didn't mind kissing him, really. Unlike bedding him, it was nice. There weren't many ways to inflict pain with a kiss, after all, and tearing off the other's lips or tongue with your teeth meant no more kisses. So Luna simply walked over to a slightly surprised Hisoka, yanked him down by the collar, and placed her lips on his.

Hisoka's tongue flicked against her lower lip, but she kept her mouth stubbornly shut, unwilling to go that far in front of an audience. Hisoka sighed and nipped her lip before pulling away, moving his mouth next to her ear.

"You're _mine_. I won't give you to Chrollo or anyone else," Hisoka murmured, quietly enough that only she could hear, before he moved back.

Luna spun on her heel. She could feel the Ryoudan staring holes into her back, shocked that she would actually kiss that deranged magician. Her face burned. _She_ couldn't believe that she actually kissed that idiot in front of everyone.

"Orion, Phinx can't breathe, so let him up already. Huginn, Muninn, come on. Food," Luna said quickly, not once turning to face the Spiders.

With a cheerful meow, Orion bounced over to the girl, careful to slap Phinx's face with his tail on the way. He kept an eye on the man, of course. Phinx's face turned such a _wonderful_ red with rage, and he was pretty sure Phinx would end up bursting a blood vessel or ten, and die without Orion's help.

"You DAMNED OVERSIZED RAT—" Phinx's scream was cut off as Feitan and Machi attacked him at the same time, the former jamming a ball of cloth in his mouth as the latter conked him on the head.

"Do you _want_ all the guards in the building to find us?" Machi growled.

"Orion should have continued to sit on you. Then you would at least be _quiet_ ," Feitan added.

Chrollo nodded with a small smile. "Peaceful, isn't it?"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Burning exploded cars, dead corpses everywhere, the Ryoudan about to steal things, and the entire city in chaos because of us. Peaceful?"

"Of course," Chrollo said, surprised that she would think otherwise. "What makes you think it isn't peaceful?"

The assassin frowned, considering for a moment. She couldn't think of anything that made the city anything less than peaceful at the moment. This was as peaceful as York New could get. So she simply nodded.

"I feel like steak. Let's eat and run, and then buy one of those sticks with a ball and string attached. You'll like that, right?" Chrollo asked.

"Of course."


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N:** I rated this M, right? I _can_ swear, right? And again, I'm _really really sorry for the late updates._ I wish I can say I will update faster, but I can't guarantee anything. I _hate_ writer's block... I blame the resume writing for it... T.T I also blame yaoi. My head has recently been filled with nothing but scenarios for BL stories.

A BL story for Chrollo... That might be interesting.

Did you know that the Phantom Troupe Requiem is really Mozart's Lacrimosa? Search it up on youtube.

 **Thanks for faving/following** : Lacey462, buttonsXD, 125berribe, AliasGrace625, Logan jones, Kale72, Elaine302, RevengeOfTheFangirls, Popstar195204, , wickedlfairy17, PMH923953588, ASicknessInSalem, binderya22, AoiRozu1029, .eater.1827, Milanienne, Funily, and xLilim.

 **GCLR** : Haha. Chrollo is really cute in _any_ form.

 **HeroSeekerFrost** : Haha, I know, right?

 **xLilim** : Thank you very much for the compliments! Makes me really happy \\(^^)/ It is a little difficult to keep the characters in character, and I have to keep rewatching episodes to find places to insert Luna and find inspiration to write. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

l **axusdrayer2324** : If whatshisname (Kortopi?) only makes an exact copy, my logic is that they will have to mangle the copies themselves :) I'm not sure what the stick with the ball and string attached is called-Chrollo doesn't know either; the downside of being a socially inept criminal-but it's a cat toy. Chrollo doesn't know it's a cat toy either...

 **Guest** : Erm... Luna having sex with someone other than Hisoka and his reaction... His reaction would probably depend on who it is. Chrollo, he would join in the fun. Anyone else, he would probably grin, approach really slowly, and tear off their leg. Then their other leg. The their arms, starting with their fingers and their hands and their elbows and then the shoulders. He would probably proceed to stem their bloodflow with his nen gum and make them watch as he licked all their blood off Luna. Luna would, on the other hand, be completely on edge, not knowing if he wanted to screw her or kill her. Actually, I'm not sure there would be someone willing to have sex with Luna. She's poisonous, and if you reread the scene with her and Hisoka, her body fluids-including saliva-burned him. Let's just say sex with Luna would be very painful.

 **Guest** : Hisoka did say Luna belongs to him, but yeah, I agree, Luna belongs more to Chrollo. He keeps her like a pet or a little sister, after all, and Hisoka's just... Hisoka.

 **wickedlfairy17** : Not sure when that would come in, since Chrollo loses his nen and Hisoka goes into the game and plays with Gon (Cheater!). But it will happen again. Eventually...

 **SoulXHunter** : Luna is a former assassin and a blacklist hunter. And she learned from the best (Hisoka). But I'm sure the Spiders don't usually release so much killing intent around each other. They would all be jumpy all the time, and they would be so focused on the strong killing intent from their comrades that they won't be able to sense the weaklings. I'm not sure Luna _did_ comply to the kiss. He just kind of did it, and she just stood there in shock that he would do that in front of Chrollo. Innocent, innocent Chrollo shouldn't have to see such dirty things. XD

* * *

Luna stared blankly at the two boys. Were they _idiots_? They had gotten away from the Phantom Troupe once, did they really think they could do it again? Most people _avoided_ deadly criminals who could kill them sixty ways in one second. These two _had_ to have a few screws missing, and that meant a lot considering that Luna had enough screws loose to enjoy the company of _Hisoka_.

"Should we kill them? I'm not sure about the black haired idiot with a pea sized brain, but I can kill Killua without consequences. He's an assassin, so he should be on the blacklist," Luna offered.

Machi turned to Luna with a frown. "You shouldn't stay too near Hisoka. Don't let him touch you either. He's infecting you with Hisoka-ness."

"Machi, Hisoka isn't bacteria," Chrollo said.

"Chrollo is right," Luna nodded. "He's worse. He's a plague."

Chrollo blinked. He wasn't quite sure about the logic of that.

"Well, I wouldn't suggest killing them yet. Maybe later. You might get money for it too," Chrollo nodded. "But it is against our principles to work for money, you know. If we don't steal it, it isn't satisfying somehow."

Luna nodded, understanding. "But I think killing for money is fine. We kill people to steal money anyways, so it isn't work."

"That is a good point."

"I'll leave the idiot alive for Hisoka. Killua dies," Luna determined.

And then the lights went out.

Three blinks. It took that long for Luna's eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, but it was too long. She could hear high pitched grunts as the two boys attacked, and the snap of bone. And then panic.

She couldn't feel Chrollo's presence anymore. Her eyes flitted through the dark, searching desperately for the pale skinned danchou, but he was nowhere to be seen. Luna spat out a curse, grabbed Killua's arm—the silver hair was a dead giveaway in the dark—and pressed a knife against his throat. He stilled immediately, and she could hear the others subduing the one named Gon.

They had spent no more than a minute in the dark, but Machi got hit and Pakunoda had her arm broken. Worse, Chrollo was suddenly missing, and they had _no idea_ how that happened. It didn't take three guesses, however, to know who did it.

Furious, Luna slammed Killua against the floor, fingers curled around his throat and a knife hovering above his eye. Killua's eyes widened; he completely stopped moving, probably even stopped breathing. A part of her mind could hear Gon shouting Killua's name from where he dangled in Nobunaga's grip, worried for his assassin friend, but with Luna's blood boiling, the voice only made her want to torture them both to death.

" _Where is he_?" Luna snarled.

"W-what—"

Her fingers tightened, Killua choked. "Wrong answer. _Where. Is. Chrollo_."

"D-don't know," Killua managed to answer in spite of his windpipe being crushed.

Pakunoda put her uninjured hand on Luna's shoulder. "He really doesn't know."

Luna's scowl deepened and her fingers tightened briefly, but with a 'tch', she let the boy go. Killua rolled over and gasped for air, crawling over to Gon. There was the illusion of safety in numbers, even if he knew for a fact that the number of enemies didn't matter to the Ryoudan—except that it would take them longer to kill a hundred people than to kill one.

"But they do know—" Pakunoda began.

"Wait!" Nobunaga barked. "Pakunoda. For you."

The memory reader glanced down at the sheet of paper. Luna raised an eyebrow. A ransom note for Chrollo? Or rather, was Chrollo so weak that the chain user could take him so easily? Because there was nobody other than the chain user who had the ability to kidnap him, since the Zoldycks had already left.

"Pakunoda. Where is Chrollo," Luna said.

"Sorry," was the woman's only reply.

"Fuck!" Luna cursed. "Fucking dickheaded piece of cow shit eating dung beetle!"

"Luna!" Nobunaga shouted.

She blinked, clamping her mouth shut so no more curses fell out.

"Since that guy left a note, he will contact us again. Until then, these two are important hostages," Nobunaga continued. "Luna, that means _you can't kill them_."

"Can I at least have a finger each? For now?"

" _No_."

She sighed, pouting. If she could just cut paper thin lines into their skin, it would help pass the time. And she could pretend they were the chain user—that wasn't a good idea. She already knew they were friends of the chain user from how Pakunoda was cut off and from the message on the paper. If she started cutting, she would never stop until they were ribbons.

"We should kill them…" Luna muttered under her breath. "Idiots like them will always keep turning up. It's annoying… I bet they had a part in ruining the fake deaths. What a waste. And we managed to arrange the fake corpses so nicely too… I wonder if we could do the same with theirs. Display dead body art for the chain user. Or maybe cut them into pieces and hide the pieces all around the city, and make them into a treasure hunt puzzle for the chain user to find and put together. I bet they're friends. It would be revenge for Uvo."

The Spiders plus two boys stared at the girl strangely. She stared back, head cocked. Why were they looking at her like she was a two headed Hisoka happily screwing a dismembered corpse?

Actually, that _could_ happen, now that Luna thought about it. The two headed part wasn't exactly possible, of course. Hisoka didn't like wasting his nen memory, and he would see no point in having another head. But he _would_ fuck a corpse he himself dismembered a few seconds ago, if the person had been strong enough to satisfy his bloodlust.

She almost shuddered. That dismembered corpse could be _her_ in the future. She just hoped Hisoka waited until she was actually _dead_ , and not still dying.

"What the _fuck_?!" Nobunaga half shouted. "Did you turn into Feitan?! And I just said they were valuable hostages!"

"… I'll kill them _after_ the chain bastard returns Chrollo. Or I'll kill one in front of him just to make sure he _does_ return Chrollo safely," Luna said.

Nobunaga sighed. "You're not killing either of them until danchou says you may."

Luna sighed. Then she turned to Killua, observing him. If they had to pass the time, at least she could do something useful, like memorize Killua's features and nen signature.

"You look like Silva and Zeno," Luna murmured.

Killua started, stared at her in shock.

"Not much like Illumi though. Your other brothers look like your mom, so how come you ended up like Silva?"

Killua inched away. One moment she's talking about killing them and the next she's making small talk? The girl was insane. The Phantom Troupe were already insane, but at least they had _some_ sanity. This girl just needed to be locked up somewhere far away, preferably a building with no doors or windows.

"Kikyo-san was pretty. So was Illumi. You're pretty in a different way," Luna continued. "But Chrollo's prettier than all of you combined. If your friend makes Chrollo less pretty, I'll make you less pretty too."

Machi patted the short girl on the head. "Chrollo will be back soon. No need to think such bloody thoughts."

"Phinx! Hurry up! Danchou has been abducted!" Nobunaga snarled into his phone.

"Hurry up, idiot," Luna added. "At least get my cat back here."

" _Then don't leave your damned oversized mousetrap with me in the first place!"_ Phinx's voice yelled.

"Wait. Don't hang up yet," Luna said just as Nobunaga brought the phone from his ear. "Huginn, Muninn. Can you hear me?"

" _The fuck is wrong with your creepy pets? Those two just stared at me and left!"_ Phinx exclaimed.

"It's fine," Luna said, releasing some of the tension in her muscles. Then she straightened, glanced around. "Hey, chain user. Can you hear me?"

The rest of the Spiders glanced at her as if she had lost her mind—it wasn't unthinkable. The head of the Spider was Chrollo, after all, and the legs couldn't think without the head.

"Or the chain user's friend. Give that bastard a message for me," Luna said, her voice so calm that it sent shivers up the spines of everyone that heard. "If he even touches a hair on Chrollo's head, I will hunt him down and tear him to pieces with a _blunt spoon_. No matter how long it takes. But before that, I will have him watch as I torture his friends to death."

"A blunt spoon…?" Nobunaga muttered.

"Two friends die for Uvo, and one more friend dies for every injury on Chrollo. Oh, and if he runs out of friends, I will choose _innocent_ people, and he will die with the guilt of having caused their deaths," Luna smiled. "Have a nice day."


	54. Chapter 54

_"_ _You won't kill me. You left your precious friends behind," Chrollo said calmly._

 _"_ _I'm not so composed that I will ignore your taunts!"_

 _"_ _Kurapika!" Leorio shouted._

 _"_ _That girl's fortune telling didn't mention this," Chrollo said matter-of-factly. "That means this situation isn't significant enough to matter."_

 _"_ _You bastard!"_

 _Chrollo smiled._

 _"_ _Kurapika!" Senritsu exclaimed. "Remember what that girl said!"_

 _"_ _Does it look like I care right now?" Kurapika snarled._

 _"_ _If you kill him I'll kick your ass!" Leorio warned._

 _"_ _That girl?" Chrollo glanced at the sharp eared friend of the chain user. "Ah, you mean that message. A blunt spoon, was it? Sounds rather painful. But she shouldn't say such things. She's still a child, after all. Besides, this situation is the same as an afternoon coffee break."_

 _Chrollo's head shot back; it would have hit the glass window of the car if Kurapika didn't still have a tight grip on his clothes. His face hurt, but it was nothing compared to a punch from the Zoldycks. The Chain User was surprisingly weak._

 _"_ _Calm down, Kurapika! We're on equal footing here!" Leorio growled._

 _"_ _Equal footing?" Chrollo glanced up in surprise. "You're mistaken. I have no value as a hostage."_

"Late," Luna murmured. "Orion, I thought you were watching the idiot?"

"Mrowr," Orion said apologetically.

"Of course. I'm sorry," Luna said, a little sorry that she scolded her cat for something he couldn't help.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and calmed her heartbeat. If she made it soft enough and minimized the number of beats, the chain user's friend probably wouldn't be able to tell where she was. She couldn't completely stop her heart and her breathing, but she could come close.

"Why didn't you go after him right away?" Feitan asked.

Luna stiffened. Her fault. If she had gone after him right away instead of catching Killua, she could probably have caught him before he was taken in an unknown direction. She had, after all, sensed Chrollo's disappearance.

"Machi and Paku were injured," Nobunaga answered.

"So?"

"He had pro hunters as allies."

"So?"

"Read between the lines!" Nobunaga shouted. "It proves that these two brats still have value as hostages! Danchou was probably captured by the chains Uvo couldn't break. He probably couldn't escape on his own."

Luna shrank back a little. "Sorry. But he just _disappeared_. I couldn't sense him at all."

Feitan's piercing gaze drilled holes into her, before he glanced around. One cat plus zero birds. He nodded. If her two ravens were out searching, that was one plus, at least. And if those two brats still had value as hostages, Chrollo wouldn't die yet.

"And the message? Pakunoda knows something, right?" Phinx said, frowning.

"He has an ally that can hear everything," Pakunoda explained to the confused Phinx. Had he forgotten that already?

"The chains are probably too strong to break with physical power, and they do something to your nen," Luna said. "Otherwise we would be able to trace Chrollo's nen."

Then a phone rang. Everyone froze for a second, a little like startled deer, before Phinx took out his cell. The name flashing across the screen was all too familiar.

"It's danchou," Phinx said. "Hello?"

"I have three demands."

"Chain user."

Immediately the Spiders not holding onto the two boys shifted closer, and Phinx increased the volume so they could all hear. Luna frowned. She could hear rain. And… A car? Well, that was expected, since they couldn't move Chrollo quickly without a mode of transportation. But it made it harder for Huginn and Muninn. Unless, of course, they could also see through things.

If that was the case, she really would have to smack them for being perverted birds who looked through women's clothing.

"My demands are absolute. If you disobey, I'll kill your leader immediately," the voice said. "First, don't follow me. Second, don't harm the hostages. They must _both_ be unharmed. Third, put that woman named Pakunoda on the phone."

"One thing. About the second demand, the hostages struggled and we had to break a few bones," Phinx said.

"Then negotiations are done."

Luna stared blankly at Phinx as he stared at the beeping phone. With one press of the button he redialled. "Sorry. That was a lie. They're both unharmed."

"There's no next time. Put Pakunoda on the phone."

"Idiot," Luna kicked his shin hard even as Nobunaga and Machi smacked him on the head. "Orion, sit on him."

Phinx's eyes widened. "Wait… Don't—"

One giant paw swept Phinx's feet out from under him, and in the same movement pressed down on the man's stomach. Orion stared down at the blonde in thought. He could either sit on Phinx's chest or on his face. He preferred the face, of course, but he wasn't sure he wanted that face on his butt. Who knew where that dirty face had been.

He plopped down on Phinx's chest.

The group waited. Tense moments passed as Pakunoda spoke with the chain user away from the group, and Nobunaga headed over a little later. Luna could see him keeping a distance though, making sure everything was alright without overhearing.

And when Pakunoda returned, she walked straight out.

Luna blinked. As much as she would love to conjure a physical copy of herself to leave here while she followed the mind reader, she didn't have that ability. She stepped towards the door.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?" Nobunaga growled.

"Out."

"You—"

"I'm not going to risk Chrollo's life. Don't worry. I'll be back in a few minutes," Luna said, not once turning back to look at the group.

The moment she stepped out of the hotel, the rain soaked through her hair and clothes. It was cold—perfect. Her mind cleared a little, not that it wasn't clear in the first place, but at least she wasn't thinking mostly about killing the chain user and his friends in the bloodiest way possible.

She sighed, lifted a hand, palm facing forward, and one bird returned, circling silently above her. If she hadn't known Huginn and Muninn were ravens, she would have thought they were owls, with how silently they moved. The rain didn't hurt either, muffling the little sound their wing-beats made.

Luna turned her hand sideways, and Huginn shot off, flying after Pakunoda. Muninn turned and headed back towards the girl—he would be the messenger. The rainwater weighed his feathers down, and he frankly hated having to fly through the wetness, but it wasn't like he wasn't used to it. It had just been centuries since he _needed_ to fly around the world, regardless of the weather.

And at least his current mistress didn't send him flying around the world every day and memorize what everybody was doing. She just asked the two ravens to do easy things and treated them nicely. Flying through the rain was cheap payment.

Luna turned her face towards the sky, letting the rain drench her for a moment longer before she returned to the hotel lobby. The Spiders stared at her for a moment with mixed feelings. She had returned, which meant Chrollo was safe for now, but _what was with all the water she brought with her_?

Luna shrugged. "An impromptu shower never hurt anyone. In fact, there's someone lying on the floor who would benefit from a nice soaking."

"Mrowr?" Orion asked.

Luna thought for a moment. "Let's not. If he gets away from you, he might end up following Pakunoda. That's bad."

"Mrowr," Orion agreed, shifting his paws.

Phinx yelled, twisting desperately under the cat. Paws off paws off paws _off_! He still needed that part of his anatomy, damned cat!

Another phone rang.

"It's him," Shalnark said, almost surprised.

"Put one of the hostages on the phone. All the members are there, right?"

"Yeah. For now, but they were talking about going after—" Killua began.

Luna smiled, and Killua paused, shuddered. She held a finger to her lips.

Shalnark returned the phone to his ear.

"Have all the members in your hideout in thirty minutes. Use any trick you want, but your leader dies," the voice on the other side of the phone continued.

Even as Phinx swore, Luna glanced at Kortopi. If it was him, he should be able to… As the rest of the Ryoudan led the hostages out, Luna put a hand on the small Spider's shoulder and held a finger to her lips to indicate that he should be silent. She pointed at him, herself, then with her hands indicated a feminine figure in the air next to her.

Kortopi's visible eye stared blankly at her, before he understood. He nodded. Luna smiled.


	55. Chapter 55

A/N: I feel dead... I want to write more and more, but somehow I barely even touch my computer anymore. I apologize again for the extremely slow updating... 

Thank you for faving/following: Titaania, Nyrmedia, RiDDicK0011, eviziru, volley-14-nerd, DrWhovia, KUROink, Aki-Whose name has been stolen, Coranthium, UniCryin, kimchi759, animeotaku88, joker4life, MiuHatake, Inferncorvus, Celeste D. Lilica, Yo's Subordinate, Grey550, CrazyEllaphant, FormerBlueWingedAngelReAnne, akuma-neko-kage, AnimeBabez, Kapten Skylar, doglver0126, OperaEagleIcelynLancelett, fishyspearmint, steph557, Imrys, moonchain12, digibladelover1, AliceObscurum, Chaos'sBride, AkaneIchihara, Shadowfaux, Manga is Life, and Kami-sama13.

Steff: Wow... Reading everything in one day is... kind of amazing. I'm glad you liked it :) I understand what you're talking about. Sometimes I feel like the characters are a little OOC too, but I just kind of roll with it. Luna is going to meet Illumi, and I'm not sure about the training, since there are no more assassin families other than the Zoldycks who could train her-and they're basically enemies. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

laxusdrayer2324: Haha! Love your comments, as usual. Luna is kind of taking on the traits of the Spiders... She's hanging out with them a little too much :P 

SoulXHunter: I like writing bad guys. I like reading bad guys, and most of my favorite characters are either antagonists or protagonists are clearly good guys but often behave like bad guys. There are two ways I write-either coming up with things to put down while I'm writing, or going through scenes in my imagination several times until I'm happy with it. Needless to say, I write a lot faster in the second scenario, but I feel like I haven't been thinking about Hunter x Hunter lately... I'm glad you like my ideas, though :3

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It only took a light tug on Kortopi's clothes to signal the small Spider to stop. Luna glanced around, almost nervously. If that chain bastard's friend found out they were doing this, Chrollo could die. It was a gamble, really. If the chain user valued his friends' lives over his desire to kill Chrollo, Chrollo would live.

Luna hated these kinds of things. She was just an assassin—she always killed the target no matter whether they had a hostage or not, because she simply didn't care about said hostage. But it was _Chrollo_. As much as she would like to silently slit the chain user's throat, she couldn't do anything without knowing what the chain user was doing to keep Chrollo hostage.

After all, no matter how pretty and delicate he looked, he commanded the Phantom Troupe, and he was strong enough to fight and win against a Zoldyck elder. Nobody could hold Chrollo without using some kind of trick.

A light tug at her sleeve drew her attention back to the situation, and Luna blinked, seeing nothing but hair and a single large eye in her line of vision. She blinked again. Kortopi was just a _little_ too close for her comfort.

Kortopi cocked his head, asking silently if she was ready. She nodded. He made a flurry of motions with his hands before staring at her again, asking for approval. She nodded again. How she understood him, she had no idea. Actually, she _didn't_ know for sure that she understood.

For all she knew, he could be telling her that she had a sixty percent chance of turning purple and grow eight tentacles for an unknown length of time as a side effect of his ability.

Kortopi's hand hovered over her, his other hand held out next to him. Luna felt chills run up and down her spine, and she fought the urge to stab Kortopi. Was this how the rest of the Ryoudan felt when he copied them? She shuddered. On the bright side, she didn't have to mangle her own corpse.

Finally, the creepy sensation vanished, she relaxed, and Kortopi stopped looking at her like she would tear his head off with a blunt spoon.

She contemplated smiling as thanks, but changed her mind. She didn't need Kortopi permanently terrified of her. The Ryoudan only needed one person with a smile that said 'I would love to kill everyone important to you just to see the despair on your face before I bury my hands in your guts while I rut against your leg'.

As much as she liked Hisoka, she hated when he smiled. When his lips curved up, she never knew if he wanted to kill her in an exciting fight, torture her to death in a slow and painful fight, or go kill someone else while waiting for her to become strong enough to satisfy him.

Therefore, she simply nodded—a gesture Kortopi returned—and faded into the shadows.

The small Spider's eyebrows rose in surprise. He was sure that wasn't speed. He squinted into the darkness, trying to catch even a glimpse of a pale figure flitting away, but he couldn't see anything. He shook his head in amazement. He met the most interesting people in the Ryoudan.

The Spiders stared blankly at Kortopi as he dragged the completely motionless figure of their pet assassin into the base.

"She tried to run away, so I knocked her out," Kortopi explained.

Nobunaga blinked, lips twitching. Did Kortopi really think they would buy that? No matter how they looked at it, that was a copy. A living person, even knocked out, still had signs of life.

Unless Kortopi killed her.

But there was no blood, so that was that.

Phinx snorted, rolling his eyes in disdain. "You really think— MRGGHHH!"

"Ah, nice job," Nobunaga said in approval.

"MRPH! ARRRGH!" Phinx shouted.

"Keep him there," Machi said flippantly. "I can't believe a cat is smarter than him."

Orion's tail flicked proudly. Muffled sounds continued to flow out of his mouth, or more accurately, from Phinx's head buried in Orion's mouth. He hadn't wanted to do this. Phinx's head tasted horrible, he was sure he would get worms or some horrible disease, and Phinx pinching and slapping his face really hurt. Orion chewed a little, tongue shifting. He made a face. Alright, he tasted more of Phinx than he had ever wanted to.

The muffled sounds that escaped from the head inside his mouth didn't sound very polite either.

"Ah, you can let him out now," Nobunaga finally said.

With great relief, Orion opened his mouth. Phinx had turned a strange shade of red, and the saliva that matted his hair and dripped off his face didn't help him look any saner.

"You… You _fucking piece of shit eating bag of bones_!" Phinx screamed.

Orion leapt back, just in time to avoid getting hit. Paws scrambling, he retreated behind Machi—Phinx wouldn't be stupid enough to attack him there. He smacked his lips, gagged. He needed water _now_. Anything to get rid of the taste of idiot. The cat scraped his pads against his tongue and hacked, dry heaving. The taste of dirt was disgusting, but it was better than Phinx.

" _I'm the one who wants to vomit, you flea bag!_ " Phinx roared.

Orion only shot him a dirty look. Phinx had so obviously never tasted himself. He flicked his tail at the man in a rude gesture. Really, this idiot didn't deserve to be anywhere near Luna.

Ringing broke the tense silence. Orion's ears pricked, and along with everyone else, he stared at Nobunaga. Nobunaga stared at his phone.

"Pick up already!" Phinx growled, forgetting his anger towards Orion.

"Got it! Jeez," Nobunaga pressed a button. "What?"

"Everyone is there?" The chain user's voice said.

"Yeah," Nobunaga replied tersely.

"And proof?"

"HAH?!" Nobunaga took the phone from his ear and stared at it in shock. "What d'ya mean, proof? You have that guy who hears everything, don't you?"

Silence. The air grew increasingly tense as the Spiders waited for the chain user's next word. If the chain user or his friend noticed anything wrong, Chrollo was dead.

"One of your members threatened to harm my friends when you were back in the hotel," the chain user said. "That person is still there, correct?"

"All our members are here!" Nobunaga snapped.

He glared at Phinx, as if daring him to say anything. Phinx glared back. He wasn't an idiot. He knew not to say anything stupid. Then Phinx shrugged. It was true—all of their members were there, plus an unnecessary oversized rat eating bag of fleas taking up space.

After all, Luna had never been a member of the Ryoudan.

Technicalities really helped a lot in situations like this—not to mention that the Ryoudan were used to lying and cheating. Besides, technical truths were still truths. It was the chain user's fault he didn't make the question more specific.

"Hmph," the chain user huffed, and they were left listening to the dial tone.

Nobunaga stared blankly at the phone, scowled, and turned and punched the wall. "Aah, damn it! That guy seriously pisses me off!"

"Calm down. Once we get Chrollo back we can kill him," Machi said reasonably.

"Right," Nobunaga took a deep breath. "Right."


	56. Chapter 56

They stood there glaring at each other. There was nothing else to do, really. Luna refused to let the hostages go, and in exchange, the chain bastard refused to let Chrollo go. If she was being honest, Luna would say she was getting royally pissed off, but then nobody asked, so she just had to settle for pressing the knife further into the boys' skin.

Needless to say, the satisfaction from the shocked and terrified expression on the enemies' faces when they saw her appear, even though she should have been back with all the Spiders, had worn off quite some time ago.

"Let them go," Paku murmured. "Or else he won't give danchou back."

"There is no proof that he would give Chrollo back even if we let these idiots go. And why isn't Chrollo saying or doing anything? There's definitely something wrong," Luna retorted.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and let them go," the blonde snarled.

Luna cocked her head. Someone was impatient.

"How about I let one go, you let Chrollo go, and I let the other go," Luna suggested.

She could see the gears turning. He didn't look very happy at all, but he nodded.

Luna also caught his short friend's concerned expression.

Still, a deal was a deal. She stared at the two boys. Eenie meenie miney mo, kill someone and avoid death row, the head is off and blood sprays out, run away without a sound.

"Killua, go," Luna said.

"What about Gon?" Killua asked, suspicious.

"He goes after Chrollo," Luna said firmly.

Killua frowned. "Take me instead of Gon."

"No," Luna said shortly.

Finally, Killua nodded, reluctant to leave his friend in the hands of a deranged murderer, but still ran back to the blonde bastard he called a friend. Luna proceeded to wait. The chain bastard didn't move.

"Release the other one, and then I'll let go of your boss," the bastard said.

"That's not our deal."

"I have no proof that you won't kill him after I let this bastard go," the blonde scowled.

"That goes both ways."

The blonde gave the girl a hard stare. "I, at least, have honour. You Spiders have proven that you lack it."

"Well then, the deal is off," Luna inclined her head. "I am number 13 of the Phantom Troupe. Release danchou."

The small one opened her mouth. Luna's killing intent flared, and the short one shut her mouth with an almost audible snap.

"Or your precious friend dies."

"You—" Killua's feet shifted in preparation to attack.

"I wouldn't move, if I were you. You may be a Zoldyck prodigy, but I can still slit this idiot's throat before you can move."

Killua's eyes widened, and he shuddered. The girl meant every word she said.

"And I will add that the moment Chrollo dies, I can finish off that friend of yours with good ears and Killua," Luna said. "You will be last."

Pakunoda sighed, seeing that Luna wasn't going to relent no matter what. The woman felt like she should at least see Chrollo returned safely, but that would take a while. "I'll go back first."

Luna barely nodded in acknowledgement.

"Senritsu, Killua," Kurapika said, voice clipped. "Get inside the blimp."

"Kura—" Killua paused, hesitating at the sheer hatred on his friend's face. He nodded and obeyed.

Luna waited. She already knew the chain bastard wouldn't touch Chrollo, not that Gon was still in her hands. That could only mean he would release Chrollo, or he would attack her.

Either way, it was checkmate.

The chains floated in the air as Kurapika's eyes glowed red. Luna hid her smile. Perfect. This was the solution she had wanted most. He really shouldn't have let Paku know so much.

Because now Luna knew—if he used those chains on her, he would die.

The chains shot towards her, but she remained motionless. She could feel Gon tense in preparation to jump aside the moment those chains bound her. And then the chains stopped with a clink, gripped tightly in large hands, stopping short of touching her skin.

Luna glared at Hisoka, much less than pleased.

"Hisoka, go molest Chrollo. The chain user is _mine_ ," Luna growled.

She almost failed to notice the horror flit across Chrollo's face.

"Double suicide, Chibi-chan?" Hisoka cooed. "You know I wouldn't let you do something like that. The only person who can die with you is _me_. Or if you're too weak, you'll be the only one to die while I watch, but still, my point stands."

" _Hisoka_ …"

"Chibi-chan…"

Her teeth clenched, her eyes flicked to Gon. With his free hand, Hisoka grabbed her knife, sighing with pleasure as the blade cut his palm. Twisting, she kicked out, her foot landing neatly on his groin… and quickly retreated. He was _hard_.

"Hisoka, let go of my chains," Kurapika said.

"Hisoka, let go of my knife," Luna hissed.

Hisoka pouted. "I'm hurt. Who's more important to you, me or Chrollo?"

"Chrollo," Luna said flatly. "And Orion and Huginn and Muninn. And how many people are above you on the list of people I like depends on the situation, but I will tell you that _right now you are very close to that chain bastard on the list of people I despise._ "

Hisoka had the gall to look extremely wounded.

"Hisoka," the chain user repeated. "Let go of my chains. Whether I kill the girl or not, I have to seal her lips. I cannot let her go back to the other Spiders and let her tell them everything."

" _Other_ Spiders, hmm?" Hisoka looked at her thoughtfully. "It's not good to lie, Chibi-chan."

"Shut up," she hissed. "And the last person I want to hear that from is _you_!"

"Hisoka. Explain," the blonde bastard demanded.

"This," Hisoka gestured to Luna with her knife, "Is not a Spider."

"Gon, is that true?" Kurapika asked.

"Hmm," the boy said, a troubled expression on his face. "She was with the Genei Ryoudan from the beginning."

"So Hisoka is lying," Kurapika said. "As usual."

Hisoka's expression twisted, as if he was going to fake the wounded look again, but it was impossible for him to pull it off when he was grinning like that, so he gave up. After all, to call him a chronic liar was a wonderful complement.

Even if he _was_ telling the truth.

"I will let go of both your weapons the moment you both let go of your hostages," Hisoka decided.

Luna grimaced. She could see the blonde bastard nodding, but it wasn't until Hisoka gave her a level stare, bordering on a glare, that she nodded too. Bloody bastard. Her hostage must be one of his toys.

Hisoka smiled the smile that said 'you made a promise now you act on it before I tear you into bloody pieces' and waited. Long seconds ticked by. Then, probably sick of all the waiting, Chrollo took one step forward, then another, until he was out of the chain bastard's reach. As much as the blonde looked like he wanted to reach out and strangle the Spiders' head, he stayed completely still, as if he would lose control if he moved a muscle.

Luna didn't move, copying the blonde. Whether her hostage stayed of left was his business. She wouldn't move a muscle.

Hisoka seemed to read her mind, because he put a hand on Gon's shoulder and pushed. Only then did the child get the message and run back to his bastard friend. Hisoka immediately released the weapons, and walked to Chrollo without a care in the world.

Luna cocked her head, eyes completely black with hate. "Aren't you going to kill me? Or 'seal my lips', as you put it?"

The chain bastard's eyes turned red again, and the chains floated.

"Wait, Kurapika!" The short one with good ears shouted from the open blimp door. "She might not be a Spider."

"What are you talking about?" Kurapika growled, the chains hovering threateningly.

"Ask her."

Kurapika glared at Senritsu for a moment, but relented. "Are you a member of the Genei Ryoudan?"

"Yes," Luna said.

Senritsu hesitated. It didn't sound like a lie, but it didn't sound like the truth either.

"No," Hisoka called out.

That didn't sound like a lie either… But if they both gave different answers, one had to be telling the truth. Senritsu bit her lip. These two were either good liars—most people would give themselves away even if their answers only had one word—or they both believed they were telling the truth.

Just to be safe…

"Kurapika, they're both telling the truth."

Kurapika stared blankly at his short friend. That wasn't possible. She either was a Spider or she wasn't.

"Kurapika, you'll die if you use the chains on someone who's not a Spider," Senritsu insisted. "Better to be safe than sorry."

Kurapika hesitated only a moment more, before he growled wordlessly and walked into the blimp. It departed immediately.

"Damn it," Luna huffed. "Missed the chance to kill him."


End file.
